Loss and Regrets
by TheWhiteW0lf
Summary: Part Three of The Canary of Starling City Series. A year has passed since the events of Starling City's Finest, the death of someone important to the team starts a downward spiral that leads to the city being attacked on multiple fronts by two different enemies, both old and new which will cause a division in the team of vigilantes operating in Starling City.
1. How Far We Have Come

**A/N-This will be the final installment of my Canary of Starling City Trilogy, if you haven't read them yet, I suggest you do so before reading this one. An important thing to note is that this fic picks up a year following the events in Starling City's Finest, so it skips Arrow S2, though this fic will allude to what has occurred in the past year.**

* * *

Felicity was sitting in The Bunker watching the news that was reporting about The Archers of Starling City.

"_The Green Arrow has reportedly just taken down another of The City's most wanted criminals. And that there is no denying the fact that since vigilantes started operating within this city, the crime rate has plummeted, especially in the last five months following The Siege."_

"You're Welcome!" Felicity said to the computer screen in front of her. She closed her fist and raised it into the air.

The co-anchor nodded and asked his partner congenially; "_Do we have any news on Starling's Canary?"_

"_No sightings of The Canary of Starling City have been witnessed since The Undertaking. It is suspected that Starling's first heroine and the leader of The Birds of Prey had either perished in the earthquakes ignited by Malcolm Merlyn, or had died soon after from her injuries, or succumbed to; Potential environmental contamination by chemical, radiological or biological agents following the destruction..."_

"_Speaking of Terrorist attacks; We have experienced two attacks since The Green Arrow, and Speedy have donned their hoods and quivers, and the year before them coming on the scene, we had to endure a gang turf war. Let's face the facts, Starling City is dying and has a prison full of criminals which are burdening taxpayers."_

"_True, and the local, state and federal governments are looking into how to ease the burden on the prison system..."_

Felicity turned off the feed, as Oliver, Thea, Roy, and Diggle walked down from the stairs, each person storing their weapons. After they did so, Oliver spoke. "Take another name off the board."

Diggle smirked proudly at his friend. "We keep this up, and there will only be two types of criminals in this city; The Ones we put away, and those fleeing with their tails between their legs."

Thea nudged Roy and quirked her brows. "I don't know about you, but I could use some sleep."

Roy hummed his agreement as he started to follow his girlfriend out. He stopped as he heard Oliver's voice.

"You two did good tonight, you especially Roy." Roy looked slightly abashed before he slowly wrapped his arms around Thea's waist and left The Bunker for Verdant.

The remaining trio looked at each other and smiled, their amicable silence was broken, as Felicity admitted that she had an early shift in the morning.

She then walked out, as Diggle spoke, "I have to start heading home to" He admitted. "Lyla has me building the bassinet from hell. How did you manage to build one of those?" Diggle asked as he turned to face Oliver.

"Patience, and Laurel attempting to translate the very unhelpful instructions and pictures." Oliver then grinned at the memory of them taking hours to build the Ikea furniture in preparation for the birth of their son. "Oh, that reminds me, Digg." Oliver pulled out a small jewelry box and handed it to his friend. "Open it." He said with a small gesture of his head.

Diggle looked uneasy, as he slowly opened the small pink velvet box. After it was open in the man's large hands, Diggle's eyes moved from his brother to the contents of the box. A small silver star pendant on a chain necklace. Diggle studied it, with misty eyes and a gentle hand.

"I figured that since you and Lyla are having a girl…" Oliver justified awkwardly.

Diggle chuckled lightly, as he gently held the necklace as if it was a precious stone or metal. "As much as I appreciate it, man. You surely can't afford this."

Oliver closed his friend's hand over the box, preventing John from handing it back to him. "Don't worry about the money." The truth was; between his inheritance and splitting the money from selling the mansion, he and Laurel were not in need of money. "We are still getting your baby something else, but since your brother is no longer with us… I thought that you, Lyla and the baby could get an extra present from Uncle Oliver, and Aunt Laurel. Something made from the heart and not store-bought."

Diggle gently placed the necklace into the box, as he did, Oliver continued. "Congratulations, John."

An hour later, Oliver walked into his and Laurel's loft. He saw Laurel leaning over their coffee table completing some paperwork, while Connor was laying down in his cradle snoring lightly.

"Hey." He whispered, as he sat next to his fiancée, and kissed her cheek.

"Hey, I heard that _Robin Hood_ has been on a roll." She teased lightly, leaning her head against him.

"_He _has been cleaning up the city, while _his _Pretty Bird has been looking after _their _baby bird of a night. I still miss being out there with you." Oliver admitted.

Laurel sighed, as she placed her paperwork on the coffee table, and looked at him. "I'm under no illusions about the life that you live… that I used to live... And it is because of that, I can't risk both of us going out and leaving him without parents. We have lost too many people as it is; Jo, Tommy, My Dad, Your Mom— I won't be another person that will be caught in the crossfire and leave Connor alone."

Oliver wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his embrace and rubbed her arm lovingly. "I know. And one of us has to be responsible, Laurel. But I can see that you want to get back out there and help people. Maybe you and I could alternate days in the field?"

He noticed quite a few times since she hung up her mask after they found out she was pregnant, that her eyes occasionally glanced at her suit wistfully. Or, since Connor's birth, she had gone to Wildcat's gym instead of the base to train. She didn't have to say it, but he knew that she went to the gym to avoid the temptation of suiting up.

He certainly could respect her decision and her determination to refrain from putting herself in danger.

"I do help people Ollie; I am providing legal aid to those in need." She said. Oliver wondered if she were convincing herself and not just him. "Besides, The Emerald Archer has his Two Ruby Archers in the field who fight alongside him"

"There will always be room for _his _Pretty Bird." He said softly, before standing up, he then carefully picked up their son and carried the small infant into his room. After Oliver had ensured his child was comfortable, he kissed him goodnight. He then softly closed the door that had a little wooden plaque that he made that said; _Connor Lance-Queen_.

Oliver walked out and bypassed Laurel who had returned to her case that was for tomorrow, and started cooking them dinner, knowing that Laurel had likely forgotten to eat dinner, due to her being too focussed on her work and Connor.

* * *

Laurel stood from her table and dropped the stack of papers on the defense table. "Mr. Dale, in your professional opinion, was it good for Taylor Moore?"

Dale placed his hands in his lap and crossed his legs in an attempt to maintain his cool composure while in the proverbial hot-seat. "Our sympathies go out to the family. The whole thing It's very unfortunate."

Laurel continued to ask the man in the stand, pressuring him to break and confess the truth. Were you aware the products used in your new station were hazardous to children?

She felt sick, knowing that these people knew that their products were harmful to children. What happened to Taylor could have easily happened to any other child or even to Connor.

The defense objected. Laurel raised her hand, not removing Dale from her line of sight. "I'll rephrase." She cleared her throat. "What was attractive about Endexoprene, in the rebuilding of the subway in The Glades?"

"It's a durable material." Answered Dale with a slight shrug.

"And Half the price?"

"Well, I do run a business, and we do care about our bottom-line, without it I cannot afford to pay my employees."

"And you and Galaxy One think that it is worth endangering people to cut costs just make a profit?" Laurel asked as she looked towards the jury and back at the man on the stand full of jurors.

She knew that she was about to catch him. All she had to do was keep pushing, and he would hand her the win. She quelled the feeling of triumph; she hadn't won yet.

The CEO shook his head and explained that every single one of the materials and tools that are utilized by his company were rigorously tested. And at the moment that the findings were made public his company replaced the mortar in all the remaining stations along the new subway connecting The Glades to the rest of the city.

Laurel quirked her brow. The bastard knew about the hazardous building material and wilfully used it, until he could no longer, as it was publicly known. "Made public?" She repeated slowly. "What do you mean?" She asked rhetorically, once again looking between the jury and Kevan Dale. "Do you mean the report that was made on June 25th?"

The defense stood up. "Your honor. Miss Lance is asking my client to respond with unreasonable specificity."

Laurel interrupted the defense's interruption and continued examining the CEO. "If memory serves me correctly, your office had received an urgent delivery from The Starling Safety Commission three months prior back in March the 4th." She then gave a small smile. "I wonder Mr. Dale, did that delivery have anything to do with Endexoprene?"

The man shrugged and denied any knowledge of either the delivery nor the contents of the message.

The man's defense attorney stood up, pleading with the judge to dismiss Laurel's arguments "Your Honour unless Miss Lance can prove my client actually received these hypothetical documents, then…

Laurel shook her head and pointed at Kevan Dale and continued her speech. "It's not about whether he acquired the documents, Your Honour. It's about if he had intentionally ignored these findings." She then turned her attention to the judge, "Your Honour, I ask that this record of delivery be admitted into evidence." She said as she handed a document to the bailiff.

The man stammered as he looked at the papers in Laurel's arms. He meekly explained that he got a lot of those types of letters. Laurel exhaled through her nose in an attempt to calm herself.

Laurel took what the man offered as a defense and used his words against her. "What would you say is worse?" She asked rhetorically. "Ignoring data in the interest of maintaining a bottom line? Or neglecting to supply the court with records that might prove you purposely put the people of our city in danger? Including…

"Your Honor…" The defense interrupted.

Laurel persisted, talking over the defense attorney, pointing back at the wheelchair-bound boy. "Including this young man, Taylor Moore, who may never walk again."

The attorney was practically begging the judge for a recess in order to regroup, and most likely try to lesser the prison time for some sort of agreement.

"No need." She said, smiling sweetly at the defense attorney. "I'm done, and I think he is too." She said pointing back at the man on the stand. She then sat down next to her client and gently patted him on his forearm, and a small smile to try to give the boy some moral support.

They had won the case.

After the court had finished, Laurel walked out with Taylor and his mother. "Eleven million dollars." The mother said in awe, there was a lot that money could do for not just Taylor but all the people and children it had affected in this city.

She chuckled lightly and accepted the woman's embrace. "Thank you, Miss Lance."

"It was my pleasure," His mother then walked off into the crowd to speak to friends and family. It was then she noticed that Taylor remained where he was in the wheelchair. He was still in shock that they had won the lawsuit.

"You okay?" He nodded too quickly. "I know it's not the same kind of trauma. Every person's trauma is different, but a close friend of mine went through hell…" She said thinking about Oliver. "He got through it in the end. And the thing that I learned by watching him, was that your ability to get through your adversity as it gets harder is a hundred times more powerful than slapping a smile on your face and pretending like everything's just fine."

As she told her advice, she thought of how far Oliver had come. He had returned as a hooded archer, with a singular crusade to right the wrongs of his father, using any means necessary. He was now her fiancé, the father of their child, and a hero who saves Starling City.

"Do you understand?" She asked, to which Taylor nodded, and hastily brushed away his tears. "Hey, listen, no one can give you your life back, Taylor. You have to take it back." Laurel said comfortingly and gave him a small hug.

She then left the courthouse to see her two boys waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. Oliver stood next to a stroller, and held Connor in his arms, their dark sandy blond hair mirrored each other, though their son had her green eyes.

"Hey." She said as she held her baby in her arms. Giving him a small peck on the forehead and embraced and kissed her fiancé.

She felt her son tug on her hair. "Mama." He babbled. No matter how many times in the last few weeks, he called her; Mama or Ollie; Dada, she felt a jolt of pride, that always forced her to smile. Laurel gave him another kiss, before gently loosening Connor's grip on her hair, and placed him in the stroller.

As they walked, they found themselves in front of an unveiling ceremony. Captain Pike was standing in front of City hall and behind him was something that was hidden behind a dark velvety green material.

"Thank you. All for coming, five months ago, this city was under siege. A year before that, a terror incident that caused earthquakes in The Glades, and a year before that we endured a ruthless and bloody gang war. Starling has fallen upon hard times in the past few years, and the SCPD rallied behind men and women in masks or hoods." He said, as he looked around the crowd. "Well, I ended up with a captain's rank and they weren't recognized beyond mere words, and were never officially thanked by the SCPD. But today." He said looking out at the crowd of reporters and people.

"Today they do. The Starling City Police Department formally recognizes the individuals; The Green Arrow, Black Canary, Speedy, and Arsenal." He then with the help of a few fellow officers removed the dark green material, unveiling a statue with all four of the vigilantes.

"Make no mistake, vigilantism will never be tolerated. But I refuse to ignore those that have bled and worked alongside The SCPD for the betterment of this city."

* * *

Oliver walked out of Queen Consolidated for likely the final time. He had made a final bid for the company and had lost to a charismatic and a more intelligent man. Ray Palmer. He supposed that it was better than someone that has the company's best interest at heart is running it. And not the man that had lost his company by trusting the wrong person. Isabel Rochev. She had capitalized on his ignorance of not understanding his own company's bylaws.

Besides, he had a lot of responsibilities; he was juggling already, being a good father, in a way that his father never was, being the Green Arrow and helping Laurel plan their upcoming wedding.

* * *

Green Arrow, Speedy, and Arsenal watched as Zytle walked past one of his men. With the drug lord telling on his thugs that there was a five-minute timer on the bomb.

After Zytle spoke, a green arrow was loosed, and hit a thug in the shoulder, followed by a red arrow in the other thug.

Arsenal had made his way to the bomb location. A wooden pallet with a small tower of C4. Arsenal swore under his breath. "Felicity?"

"_Judging by the designs, you want to cut the yellow wire."_

Arsenal scanned the who bomb, not seeing any trace of a yellow wire. "There is none." He said, looking at the timer that had just reached three minutes.

He waited, as Felicity advised that he break off one of the air conditioner piping and hit the bomb with the cold chemical, thus freezing and disabling the bomb, until the Bomb disposal could do it safely.

He jumped up the side of a column, and pulled the pipe, and aimed it at the explosive, it was frosting, over and yet the time timer continued. "It's not working."

It wasn't. The timer reached two seconds, did the explosive finally stop. He breathed a sigh of relief. "It's done."

Speedy and Green Arrow chased after Zytle and his men, with Green Arrow going after his thugs. Speedy shot several men, in the legs and arms, before one tried to charge at her with a crowbar. She deftly caught his arm and threw him over her shoulder.

Speedy, felt someone behind her and was ready to hit them with her bow, when she saw Sara dressed in her league gear disband two men with her Bo staff. "Don't look surprised. I haven't been gone that long."

Speedy sniggered. "To be fair, I wasn't expecting you to be standing behind me. It's quite alarming when an assassin can sneak up on you."

"Better keep your head on a swivel then." Countered Sara.

"Touché."

They then watched Green Arrow tie-up Zytle then knock him out. Green Arrow then saw his sister and Sara smiling at him. "You're back!"

"Temporarily." She answered.

Oliver nodded and looked at his sister. "It's your night to patrol."

Speedy with a small nod, walked past her brother, and jumped off the roof, before firing a grapple arrow and swung to the next building. Once she had reached a few blocks and taken out a few muggers. She heard someone behind her. Before she could turn and raise her bow, she felt a needle in her neck.

She haphazardly pulled it out and dropped the syringe. "What…?" Thea slurred as her vision started to blur. The figure walked out from the shadows, revealing Malcolm Merlyn and a woman dressed in the same attire. "Hello. Daughter." She blinked a few times before the world went black.

* * *

Oliver and Sara stood on a rooftop several blocks away from where they stopped Zytle. "How's Nanda Par Bat?"

"Hot." She answered. "You look good. Seems fatherhood and being engaged with my sister has done you some good."

Oliver chuckled lightly. "You have been missed."

Sara shrugged. "I was on my way to your apartment, to see Laurel and my handsome nephew. I picked up your radio chatter, you may want to scramble your frequencies a bit more. It will keep everyone safer."

* * *

Oliver had just congratulated Lyla and John on the newest arrival of their family. He explained that Laurel would be around the next day, as she was with Sara, who couldn't stay long. And she wanted some time with her sister and Connor.

He felt his phone buzzing. "Hello?" He asked as he put the phone to his ear.

A familiar voice that he hadn't expected spoke. "_It's Barry." _The voice answered hesitatingly. Before elaborating._ Barry Allen." _He said to remind Oliver of who he was. "I woke up. I could use some advice."

Oliver looked out the window of the hospital. He could use the night to speak to a friend. Diggle was with his wife and daughter; Felicity was likely going back to work. Roy was either training or patrolling with Thea, and Laurel and Connor were having a Lance family reunion. A rare occurrence since Quintin had passed away, and Sara lived on the other side of the world.

"I'll be right there."

* * *

Laurel walked up to the roof of one of the buildings in the city, with Connor in her arms. "And here, I thought you used up all your League of Assassin vacation days."

Sara hugged her sister before gently taking her nephew in her arms. "I can take some time for my sister and my only nephew." She smiled as Laurel grinned back.

"You look great, and how is this little man?" She asked as she rocked her nephew in her arms slightly.

"Connie's doing good. Seeing his Aunt Sara will lighten his day."

Sara grinned as she picked up a stuffed hawk toy that had been hidden in one of her pouches and handed it to Laurel. "Got it when I was in Brazil. I hope he will like it when he wakes up?" The assassin asked nervously and awkwardly started wringing her hands together.

Laurel kissed her sister's cheek. "He will love it. And I will make sure that he knows how much you love him." Laurel assured as Sara handed Connor back. "We should get going, he needs to go to bed, and I have to start reading over some of my case files." She then looked back at her little sister. "If you need a place to sleep, you can use Thea's room. She spends most nights with Roy now, she won't mind."

"Laurel Lance. Always trying to save the world." Sara sang.

"Runs in the family."

Sara then embraced her sister for the final time and kissed her nephew on the forehead. "Bye, bye, Connie." The baby boy merely babbled and waved back.

Sara watched Laurel leave with her nephew and walked towards the roof's edge when she heard someone speak in a modulated voice. "Hello. Sara."

Sara stopped and looked at the person in shock. "What are you doing here?"

Instead of answering, the person let loose several arrows that embedded themselves in Sara's chest and stomach. The impact of the missiles forced Sara to stagger back and fall off the rooftop. Falling down several stories, before hitting her head on the edge of the dumpster before she hit the ground below.

* * *

Barry had just finished his story, about his recent escapades and woes, as being an enhanced individual and a hero. He found it both inspiring and frightening that someone outside his immediate family and friends would look to him for advice.

"And so that's my story, I have spent my whole life chasing the impossible. And never imagining, I would become the impossible."

Oliver could hear that his young friend was still reeling from his new life. The archer hesitated. "So why come to me?" He asked, turning to look at Barry. A man that had only recently woke up from being in a coma. "Something tells me that you didn't just run all the way from Central City to say hi to a friend."

Barry nodded, looking pensive. "All my life… To do more. Be more. And now, my lifelong wish has come true. And now the first chance I get to help someone, I screwed up." He then shifted his weight onto his other foot. "What if Doctor Wells was right? What if I'm not a hero? That I am just some guy that just happened to be struck by lightning?"

Oliver was silent for a few seconds to find an answer for his friend. "Being a hero is not just having superpowers and a mask. It takes dedication and a good heart. Laurel like me was just a vigilante before she discovered her powers. But Barry, I don't believe that bolt of lightning struck you on accident. It chose you."

Oliver could tell that Barry didn't quite believe that. "I don't think I can be like you, Ollie, or The Birds of Prey, nor Roy."

"No." Oliver agreed. "Central City is not the same environment as Starling. You, unlike us, have the ability and environment to inspire people in a lasting way that we never could. You can watch over your city, like a guardian angel. You can make a difference, by saving people, in a flash, day or night." He then smirked at his friend before turning his back and firing a grapple arrow to an adjacent building.

He then watched Barry from afar, disappear as a bolt of lightning. To think he had planned to start this alone, he had a plan. Life seemed to have a different one. Thea and Laurel had already started his crusade without even knowing it. And despite already having witnessed and experienced Laurel's canary cry, seeing a man sped off like a bolt of lightning was something else entirely.

* * *

Laurel had put Connor in his stroller after she had descended from the fire escape. She placed the stuffed hawk in with her son and started to head for her car when heard movement above her.

She watched in fear as Sara fell to the ground, her lifeless bleeding body in front of her. She quickly covered the pram with a blanket to obscure her son's vision of his dead and bleeding aunt.

She ran over to her sister, seeing the three black arrows in her chest and stomach, her legs spread awkwardly, and her blue eyes, were glazed over. "No! No! Sara!" She wailed, as she clutched her sister to her, cradling her sister's lifeless body in her arms as if the action would wake her up. "Sara!" She released a blood curdling screamed at the unmoving form of her sister in her arms.


	2. Death In The Family

Oliver walked into the empty nightclub. He had tried to call Laurel several times last night. Every single one of his calls went to voice mail. He made his way to the door that led to The Bunker, and entered the pin, and proceeded to walk down the stairs, to see Roy and a blood-soaked Laurel.

It felt like his heart stopped beating in his chest. His eyes scanned the basement and couldn't see their son. He couldn't see Connor. He felt his stomach drop in fear as he ran towards Laurel and held her in his arms. It was only after hearing Laurel's sobbing, and Roy pointing towards the body he had somehow missed, did he finally understand the situation.

He hadn't lost his son, but instead a close friend, Sara. She was lying lifeless on the metal gurney. Her blue eyes, glazed over. And three black arrows impaled in her stomach and chest. Her matted blonde hair was covered in a dark red congealed liquid.

He closed his eyes in an attempt to quell the tears building behind his eyes. He had lost someone close to him once again.

"I didn't know where else to put her..." Laurel sobbed almost unintelligently, she sounded so broken, so vulnerable. He had never seen Laurel look like she had lost almost everything in her life. It had devastated her when the doctors had given them the news that Quintin had died on the operating table, but this was something different.

Roy took a step towards Laurel and rubbed her shoulder as he looked at Oliver. "She called me; I took Connor and called a babysitter. After he was settled, I hightailed it back here. I couldn't—wouldn't leave them alone."

Oliver held Laurel in his arms as she sobbed. "I… I couldn't leave her, Ollie." She explained, as if it was her fault, before burrowing her head into the crook of his neck. "Ollie, It's not fair. We just got her back. It's not fair."

With one arm around his distraught fiancée, he used the other hand to close Sara's eyes for the last time. "I'm so sorry, Laurel."

"No." She whimpered, as she clutched to his shirt.

He could only apologize. He knew in his head that he's not to blame for his future sister-in-law's death, and yet in his heart, he felt he was. He let her on The Gambit. He also hated the fact that Laurel was alone, with their infant son when it happened, and when he got his hands on the person who killed Sara, he would seriously have to consider his stance on killing.

Roy patted Laurel on the shoulder gently, then did the same for Oliver. "I'll pick up Connor, and look after him. You two look after one another." He then squeezed Laurel's arm again. "I'm sorry, Laurel."

Oliver sat with Laurel on the stairs heading towards the manager's office of Verdant, he thought that they should head home, but Laurel wasn't ready to leave her sister behind. They had been sitting there for the better part of two hours, just holding each other.

He thought Laurel had fallen asleep until she spoke. Her voice was hoarse from her crying. "You, remember Sara used to have a stuffed animal." She said just above a whisper. "An old worn-out shark she got from Starling Aquarium. She loved that ratty old shark… Anytime something awful happened to her, you could always find her clutching that stupid little shark to her chest."

Laurel released a shuddered breath; she knew that Ollie wouldn't judge her for being weak. They were a team, a family. He was her family. "Now I just want to find it, rest in her arms." She then looked up at Oliver, who was rubbing her back in small circles. "Before she fell, before we parted ways for the — She gave Connor a stuffed bird… She was so excited to see Connie." She then cried again, fisting his shirt in her hand. "Ollie, Connor saw everything!"

He shushed her quietly." Roy told me how he found you over the phone, while you were in the shower." He explained gently. "You protected Conn. He's fine, Pretty Bird." He then lovingly kissed her temple. "Our baby is fine." He repeated.

She then pulled back. "I'm sorry." She sniffled and wiped her face. "How are you handling… You know?"

He wrapped his arms around her and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring, loving squeeze. "I will miss her, but I'm not the one that lost a sister." He said softly. It was his turn to look after her, not the other way around. "Hey," He said, gently pulling her chin up to look in her bloodshot eyes. "Whoever did this, I'm going to find them."

Laurel looked at him, and he saw a fire in his eyes that he hadn't seen in her eyes before. "No, we're going to." She corrected. Oliver shook his head, but she continued. "I am going to catch whoever did this."

Oliver rested his head against hers, as much as he wanted her to feel back at home, and fighting alongside him, he didn't want her first mission back to be fighting someone that got the drop on and killed Sara. Someone who was trained by the most skilled and ruthless killers in history. "Laurel, Pretty Bird. You are already helping."

Laurel looked up at him with a disbelieving look. "Truly." He assured her. "You already told us where to look. And you need to be with Connor, for both of your sakes." Didn't she tell him something to that effect after Slade had killed his mother? To let Roy and Diggle take point. To allow him and Thea to mourn.

"So I'm supposed to sit here and wait?" She shook her head. "She's my sister! If the roles were reversed..."

"Then you would do the same thing for me. You would tell me to look after myself, and Connor. And after the roller coaster you have endured over the last few years, and everyone you have lost…"

"I can handle it." She replied curtly.

"Perhaps, but I know what it's like to have anger bubbling beneath the surface, and when you find the person who did this, you are going to explode. I have experienced that firsthand. Remember how I told you that I worked for ARGUS?"

Laurel's jaw tightened as she nodded in lieu of a verbal response. "I worked with a man named Maseo, he had a wife and a small boy named Akio. Akio was killed by a biological weapon. I tortured the bastard who released the virus and killed so many people including the innocent little boy. I was never the same after that."

And he would never want to see Laurel suffer through that ordeal, that darkness. She was a beacon of hope, not a remorseless assassin or a weapon to be pointed at a target. Not like he was for Waller during his five years in hell.

"The person has to face justice, Ollie."

"They will. I promise." He assured her, before sighing, "Just promise me, that you won't be reckless?"

Laurel closed her eyes. "I trust you, Ollie. I don't like being forced to the bench, but I won't make a move unless the situation demands it." She then untangled herself from Oliver and soon regretting leaving his warm embrace.

"Where are you going?" Oliver asked, reaching out to gently grasp her wrists.

"I don't know. I… I just need to process everything on my own." She then walked out, not looking back. He could only watch as she slowly descended the stairs while she wiped her eyes.

Oliver sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose, before pulling out his phone and calling his sister, after the fifth ring, she answered.

"_Ollie, I heard about Sara, is Laurel coping?"_

His sister sounded just as distraught and worried about Laurel as much as he was. His heart broke for the two most important women in his life, both had lost too much in the past few years.

He squeezed his eyes shut, praying for strength. "I don't know where she is going… but she needs her baby sister to lean on." Perhaps having someone she considers a sister would help Laurel vent, to mourn Sara's death without going on a rage-induced crusade, to take down her sister's killer.

It was silent on the other end for a few beats, until he heard his sister speak to Roy. _"I know where she went, or at least, have a good idea. Roy seems adamant that he should look after Connor, for the day while you and Laurel mourn for Sara."_

"You look after Laurel, and I will start investigating the crime scene."

It was all he could do for Laurel. He may not be able to help her grieve, but he could certainly do his utmost to provide her closure and solace. To know that whoever did this will be punished, and will never hurt anyone again.

Thea walked slowly into the gym that had been a safe haven for Laurel, ever since she had come back to Starling, all those years ago. And she was doing the same thing that she had always done when she felt like things were not going her way, or were spiraling out of control.

She was always throwing jabs and punches at the hard bags.

"Laurel?" Thea asked, which made Laurel stop throwing punches and ran into her youngest sister's arms. Thea returned the embrace. "I'm sorry that I didn't answer your calls. If I had known…"

"It's not your fault." Laurel whispered. "You weren't the one who killed Sara."

Thea held her sister tightly in her arms. "I promise, Laurel. I will hunt for the bastard that killed your sister, and I will bring them to justice."

"I want to give them what they gave Sara," Laurel said almost inaudibly.

Thea froze. She had never heard Laurel speak like this before. "Remember what Ted taught us. Anger hinders before it helps. A double-edged sword is what he said." She then pulled back slightly to look at her. "Do you trust me, Ollie, Roy and the others?" Laurel nodded, blinking away the tears. "Then I promise you, that we will bring the bastard in, and if I have anything to say about it, they will be receiving at the very least; a concussion and several broken bones."

It would be the least she could do for Laurel, and for the girl that she had known since forever. Sara deserved justice.

Thea then looked at her sister, who was being consumed by vengeance. Her sister had been continually stripped of her ideals, to the point that she was considering becoming what Ollie had moved away from.

Was this how Ollie became The Hood? She wondered. "Promise me that you won't suit up?" Thea pled, the last time she each time Thea had seen Laurel go off half-cocked she had almost died.

Laurel bit her lip. She hesitated. Could she promise that? Laurel looked back up to see her baby sister looking at her patiently waiting for an answer. "I promise I won't go out into the field _as _Black Canary."

Oliver stood on the rooftop that Sara, Laurel, and Connor had reunited as the Lance family for the last time. He studied the markings and tracks on the gravel. He could see Laurel's footsteps and Sara's.

He followed Sara's final movements and noticed that she had spun on her feet. He looked in the direction she looked and saw different tracks.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to see Sara's unmoving body, with the black arrows protruding from her chest and torso. Black fletchings. A while ago, he would have suspected Malcolm Merlyn. But he was dead, Oliver he and Laurel defeated him. His body was cremated, and his remains were secretly dispersed in the wilderness just outside the city limits. Malcolm had died in the fight. But now, it could also mean that it was The League of Assassins.

If it was the League of Assassins, that meant his promise to his grieving betrothed may be impossible. Waging war on The League would be a fool's crusade. Suicide.

Oliver emulated the scene, trying to recreate the scene by himself when Diggle's voice broke the silence and his thoughts. "Felicity told me what happened." There was a slight pause before he spoke again. "Thea and Laurel are unreachable; their phones are turned off. You okay?"

Oliver nodded, struggling to control his emotions. He had to keep moving forward.

_A Shark that doesn't swim drowns. _He reminded himself.

He pointed at the location he believed the killer stood when he put an arrow through his friend's chest. "The killer stood there. See the displaced gravel?"

"Oliver," Diggle said, trying to get through to his grieving friend.

Oliver continued, he had to do this for Laurel, for him, for their son. For Sara. "Sara was back here. The scuff marks back to the edge." He said, avoiding looking at his friend. He would shoulder the pain, to let Laurel grieve for her murdered sister.

Oliver heard Diggle try to tell him that he didn't have to scan the scene and start locating the trail. Oliver wished he could be there for Laurel, like she was for him, and Thea when his mother was murdered by Slade. But he couldn't, no matter how much he wanted to. He may not be able to help the love of his life grieve, there was nothing he could say to make things better. However, he could provide her with closure, knowing that the person was brought to justice, and would never hurt them or anyone else ever again.

He would drive three arrows into them, just as they did to Sara. Or perhaps he would make a deal with Amanda Waller to ensure that the killer never saw the light of day. No one would hurt his family and be able to get off scot-free.

"I have to. It's the only thing that I can do."

Diggle nodded understandingly, looking around the rooftop, before looking at his friend once again. "I get it, man. Military training, stay on task. Your buddy has been shot; you keep fighting. But, Oliver..."

"I'm fine. I can't help Laurel grieve, but I can give her closure."

"Well, I'm here for you just the same." His friend said reassuringly. "Listen, Sara was my friend too. And If you think that you're going to go after this son of a bitch solo, then you are dead wrong."

Oliver walked into The Bunker, with Diggle and spotted Felicity alone, documenting and sorting out Sara's possessions that she had on her in the hopes of finding out who had killed her.

"What other archers could have done this?"

Oliver shrugged helplessly, if he knew he would have located the other archers. "There aren't that many of us. Me, Roy, Speedy and possibly Ted Grant." Even Laurel knew how to deftly wield and utilize a bow. "But the most proficient of archers belong to The League."

"Oliver you don't think…?"

Oliver immediately disagreed. Though was Sara truly one of them? Would someone who rules Nanda Par Bat like a despot think a woman who had familial loyalties beyond their guild as one of them? Oliver was doubtful of that.

She had returned home after The Undertaking and spent the better part of the last year with her sister, himself, Quintin and Connor. Not to mention suiting up every other night assisting them in the field, while Laurel was on self-imposed maternity leave.

It would be stupid to completely rule out The Demon's Head. The man would without a doubt kill a subordinate who he perceived as being a dissident. He would kill anyone whose absolute and utter loyalty was in question. It would not be a stretch to imagine that he saw Sara in this light.

It was one of the many reasons that he had kept Laurel from taking her vengeance. He had heard from Quintin and Thea of how Laurel had coped when she thought she had killed Malcolm the first time.

She didn't have nightmares, as he did instead, she second-guessed every maneuver she made, every decision and she had restrained herself from using her cry. She felt the guilt bind around her tighter and didn't let go until Malcolm re-emerged from the dead.

An angry vengeance fuelled Laurel, with her enhanced powers was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. He just hoped that if Laurel decided to go, rogue, that he was by her side, to either take the kill for her, or prevent her from having that death on her conscious.

He would take that burden on his shoulders. His oath of forsaking murder meant nothing if he could protect her, even if it was from herself.

He then noticed that Felicity had moved to the command center and started typing rapidly at the computers. "What did you find out?"

"Our new archer has killed again." She said looking up at Oliver. "It was in an abandoned warehouse on the corner of Third and Lemire. Ninth Floor."

Diggle looked at Oliver and folded his arms. "Where do you want me?"

"Will Lyla give you access to ARGUS's database?" He asked praying that they could get a lead, a dossier on their killer, anything to show Laurel that he had made an effort to find Sara's killer. Anything that might provide a beacon for her, while she was lost in the storm of her emotions. Something tangible to keep her from falling off the ledge.

Laurel embracing her emotions is what made her a resilient and fierce fighter. Her resilience and tenacity made it a privilege to have worked alongside her. He had also been at the brunt of her fists and cry. He didn't want to imagine the carnage she could bring if she lost control.

But currently, it was the same emotions that gave her the resilience, would be her Achilles tendon. It would cloud her thoughts and passions. Her anger would corrupt the woman he loves, the woman that holds her heart on her sleeve, and strives to emulate and live up to what her father preached and taught her about justice.

Diggle gave him a look that meant that he knew the answer. "She's family. Lyla will give us access to ARGUS if we asked."

Somehow, he doubted that sentiment as long as Waller was in command, but he appreciated the sentiment. "I need a list of everyone on their radar. Assassins, Mercenaries, hell, even Olympic Class Archers who have a tendency towards violence."

This bastard killed his son's aunt and Laurel's sister. His friend. He would bring them down.

Green Arrow walked through the abandoned warehouse, which was a carbon copy of almost every other warehouse in The Glades. He walked quickly and purposely, as he watched as one of the drug dealers run away. As the man fled, and attempted to pull himself up to the next floor through the hole in the scaffolding, he used the edge of his bow and slammed it into his stomach.

The man fell to the ground, clutching his stomach and wheezing. Without letting the man recover, he picked him up and shoved him hard against the steel beams. "Someone was murdered here. Tell me everything you know, and saw." He growled at the man.

The man shook his head, panting. "I saw nothing."

The archer sent a hard blow to the man's sternum, causing the drug dealer to keel over, with a loud groan. "It was a black face mask. Like…" He wheezed again, holding back his tears. "Like a hockey mask. Please, man…" Before he could beg for clemency, he was slugged across the jaw, rendering him unconscious and fell to the cement floor with a loud thump.

He pressed his comms link. "Diggle, are you at ARGUS? I've got something."

"_I'm here, man. I've got the list of twenty archers that fit our parameters."_ Diggle responded a few seconds later, Oliver could hear papers rustling. _  
_

Oliver swore under his breath. "How many of them wear something like a hockey mask?"

"_Only one known match. A mercenary. Known as Simon Lacroix, ARGUS has been calling him Komodo."_

Oliver found himself exhaling a sigh of relief. He had someone, "Send everything to The Bunker."

"_It's on its way home now."_

A few minutes, later he heard Felicity give a short description of Lacroix, followed by his location. Oliver then heard _her _voice asking about who Lacroix was.

Laurel.

She was in The Bunker. He hoped that either Roy or Thea were with her to keep her calm and not to hovering over Felicity's shoulder.

There was no way their friend could physically stop Laurel from going to hunt for Lacroix, if that is what Laurel decided to do at the spur of the moment.

He started to wonder if he should invest some time into making an arrow that would be able to incapacitate Laurel's cry, as he had with Barry's speed? He hated that he was considering a way to take her down, but he needed to be prepared for Laurel going rogue.

Not even she knew how powerful her canary cry was. But he knew from her that at the very minimum, it was possible for her to shatter windows, and it had enough force to cause a semitrailer to skid and fall to its side. It also brought up a question of; if Connor could inherit his mother's powers? He would have to put these thoughts on the back burner and find Lacroix before anything happened.

Laurel was fiddling with her engagement ring on her finger when she heard Oliver fire an arrow at presumably Lacroix, followed by her fiancé confirming her assumption as if he had read her mind.

She looked at the computer screens to see if Felicity had any feeds up. But she didn't, there was some sort of computer code or computer language on one monitor, the next screen had the dossier of Lacroix, that she had skimmed, while Felicity was multitasking.

"I need to see what is happening." As much as she didn't agree with Oliver sidelining her, she needed to make sure that he was alright. That Ollie was as safe as he could be while in the field. This bastard had killed her sister, who was trained with some of the most ruthless killers known to man. If he could kill Sara, what would he do with Ollie? A man who was trained by a Chinese general, an Australian spy, ARGUS and The Bratva?

Even last year, Ted had warned her about aligning with The League of Assassins to take down Slade. If Ted feared these people, that was enough for her, but they had saved Sara. And she and Nyssa were in command of the forces in Starling, and for that, she and Oliver gave them the benefit of the doubt. But if this man had killed her League trained sister… What did that say about Ollie, and the others stopping them?

Felicity nodded, hesitatingly. "Okay. I will pull the CCTV footage." She then started tapping on the keyboard and brought up several street camera's as well as storefront feeds to find the best feed to show the skirmish between the two archers.

Usually, Laurel didn't like the team utilizing CCTV or other security footages, despite its evident advantages. She supposed it was a mixture of Ted's old school training and her belief in the law. It didn't sit well with her how nonchalantly the team had utilized this technique with little regard to other's rights.

But this was different. Lacroix killed her sister and was fighting the father of her child, the man she loved. She would put aside her ideals if it meant that she could ensure her family was safe, and so Sara could finally rest in peace.

She watched as Oliver chased after Komodo before they were at either end of a small street. It reminded her of when her father had taken her and Sara to a medieval festival when they were girls, where knights would line up for a joust.

Only instead of lances, they were wielding bow and arrows. And in place of horses, they were on motorcycles. They darted down the street at each other, with Komodo firing volley after volley of arrows, at Ollie who dodged all of the missiles.

She held her breath, as she watched Oliver as fired a flashbang arrow, that caused Lacroix to almost fall off his bike, but he had somehow retained his balance and fired an arrow and it hit Ollie in the chest, sending him to the ground.

She clenched her fists, as Oliver struggled to snap out of his daze, as Lacroix revved his bike before speeding off. "Come on, Ollie. Get Up!" After Oliver regained his surroundings, he said that Komodo got away.

Laurel slammed her fists on the bench, causing the monitors and some of Felicity's personal trinkets to topple over onto the hard metal surface. If Oliver couldn't get the information or find Lacroix. She would, and she would keep her promise to Oliver, and Thea that she wouldn't go out as Black Canary.

Laurel walked the halls of Starling City Memorial Hospital and walked past the room that once held her father before he gave up to the ghost. She closed her eyes, and knew that her father would want justice as much as her.

She walked up to the two police officers who were guarding the room of Erlich Kelso, the man this _Komodo_ had tried to kill. One of them spoke to her as she approached. "Who are you?"

"Dinah Laurel Lance. An attorney here to speak with my potential client."

Both of them looked at each other before looking back at her. The higher-ranked officer scowled. Erlich Kelso already has legal counsel. So, unless you have asked the public defender for permission to speak to his client, you are in violation of Starling City's legal ethics."

Laurel glared at the two officers. "It is within Mr. Kelso's right to have the option of a different attorney. And it would be _you_ who would be violating Mr. Kelso's rights. I wonder what your Captain and Commissioner would think when they get a formal letter to them explaining to them how their officers conduct themselves?"

"Miss Lance was it? Quentin Lance's daughter?"

"Yeah. a pleasure to meet you." She said, gracing a faux smile.

The lieutenant hummed, looking at her with disappointment. "You have a reputation for being a smart woman, Miss Lance. And since you seem unable to understand the hornets' nest that you are kicking, let me say this as bluntly as possible; Leave this ward, leave this man alone, leave this entire case behind before you wake up six feet under the ash that was your reputation and promising legal career. I am giving you this chance out of the respect that I held for your father."

She looked at the man undaunted, "And yet, I have a right to a private conversation with a prospective client." With that, she walked past the officers and walked into the room to see the bed-bound, and chained Kelso at the opposite end of the room.

As she closed the door, Kelso spoke, "Who are you?"

"An attorney." She answered, taking a step into the room.

"I already told the police. I don't know anything."

She graced him with a small smile that didn't reach her eyes as she spoke. "I still have to ask you a few questions."

Oliver was sitting in a chair, bouncing his leg up and down in irritation. It had been several hours since Felicity had started the computer program to narrow down Lacroix's trail, and from there establish a possible location.

All he could think of was Laurel stewing in her anger and hopelessness. And he wasn't able to help her. He couldn't help her without giving her closure by getting Komodo. He needed to know if Lacroix was hired to kill Sara because of her ties to The League, or if it was to send a message to him or target the Lance family. His family.

"Why isn't it working?" He hated feeling useless, waiting for the computer to ping something. Diggle was currently looking for Laurel, who had angrily left The Bunker after he had lost against her sister's killer. But he could at least take some form of solace knowing that currently, Roy and Thea were looking after his son.

Thea had trained under Laurel and had her skills refined by Ted Grant, while Roy was trained by Thea, and his techniques were refined by him and Digg, even Speedy had taken up some of his techniques that he had learned from various people in order to make her fighting style less predictable.

"It is." Felicity then went on to explain that it was a program created by the NSA. That it searched for connections between the victims and Lacroix. The program utilized most known government databases, she had even modified it to include some clandestine databases.

He stood from his seat. "It's taking too long. Sara's killer is out there, which means that every minute we waste down here—"

Felicity jumped glaring at her team leader. "I know! You don't need to tell me as if I don't already know!"

Oliver curtly nodded. "You're right." He granted. "But I need your A-Game right now, Felicity." He needed to find Lacroix before Laurel did. He had no doubt that Laurel could evade Diggle with or without her suit. Both he and Laurel had told each other of their training prior to becoming vigilantes. She was taught by her mentor how to utilize counter-espionage tactics and how to go dark.

"I don't have it." She petulantly said. "My friend, our friend, Oliver. Was shot full of arrows and fell off a rooftop. Her body is upstairs, right above us in a freezer, because we don't know what to do with her body." She wept, no longer trying to hide her tears.

"So I'm sorry Oliver, that I have feelings. But maybe if you did too…" Upon seeing Oliver's shocked and sullen face, she reeled back. "I'm sorry. That was mean…" But then she continued. "… But this is Sara we are talking about. A childhood friend of yours. A woman that you survived with on Lian Yu." She shook her head in disappointment, mixed with bewilderment. "How can you remain so cold and rational?"

He frowned. "She was my friend. I grew up with her. But I don't have the luxury to fall apart. I have a fiancée that has had more than her fair share of grief and has lost too many loved ones. And everyone else is looking to me to handle things. To make the right decisions. Usually, I have Laurel to catch me to help shoulder the weight of responsibility. Without her guidance, without her support, everyone is looking to me to lead. If I grieve, nobody else gets to."

He then smashed his hand on the bench. "I can't even help Laurel grieve without feeling useless!" The only way he knew how to help her was to bring the bastard that killed Sara to justice. He turned to look up at the date next to the clock on the wall. It's been two days… "I haven't seen my son in almost two days. My son, Felicity. Two days!" He growled, not necessarily at her, but at the world, all he wanted to do was keep his family safe, but he couldn't.

He watched as Felicity seemed to notice him rubbing his thumb against his middle and forefinger. He quickly shook his wrist as she spoke. "You're still human, Oliver. You're allowed to mourn and have feelings. Instead, you find it easier to hide beneath your hood. When you are angry and hurt, you lash out with violence. Laurel is the same way. It's not healthy!"

He looked back at where Laurel and Roy had Sara laying lifelessly on the steel table. Where he saw Laurel look so broken. "I was looking at Sara earlier. And I was reminded of how dangerous this life was. I had to remind myself of why I continued after The Undertaking." It was to clean up this city to ensure that it was a safer city for Connor when he grew up."

He and Laurel were talking about retiring before they had found out about their unexpected addition to their family. It was then that Oliver decided to go back out into the field to ensure that the world would be safer for their child.

He then looked back at Felicity. "I am under no delusions that the life I have chosen will probably be the end of me. Right now, right now, I just want to ensure that my family is safe.


	3. Komodo

**A/N- I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, or a Happy Holidays. I would also like to thank the Lauriver Discord once again for their advice. **

Laurel walked up to Kelso's hospital bed. "Let's start with the obvious. Why would someone want to kill you? Besides the fact that you and your company being parasites that feed on the vulnerable people in The Glades."

"I have no idea. This whole thing is insane." He said, trying to play the innocent victim, he wasn't fooling her.

"Mr. Kelso. Despite what you may have heard, homicides at the hands of strangers are rare." She said, folding her arms and pacing slowly up and down the length of his bed. "So, imagine, despite what the media would have you believe, how rare homicides by bow and arrow are."

"Yeah, the guy is a sicko. A nut case like The Emerald Archer, The Dark Archer, and The Ruby Archers."

He really had no idea who she was. He was trying to garner sympathy with her by unknowingly slandering her fiancé, her sister, and a young man that she now saw as the brother she never had. Her family.

"You're a liar." She said walking closer to him.

He pointed at himself, as he straightened his back against the pillow behind him. "I'm the victim here!" He said glaring at her.

She scoffed, as she took a final step towards his cot. "You're also a witness to a crime and have charges pending for the illicit drugs that were found on your person and in your belongings. So, you better give me something more useful, or as your lawyer. I cannot defend you against obstruction of justice charge if you don't help me, help you."

He smirked, smugly, his victim persona disappeared into a puff of smoke. "I think that I want to talk to my public defender, _Thanks._"

"Oh really, you want to talk to your lawyer?" Laurel grabbed the man's arm and bent it awkwardly over the railing of the bed. "How's your arm feeling!?" She raised her voice, before bringing her mouth towards his ear, and speaking a low growl; "It hurts, doesn't it, being in pain, being afraid?"

It was a slice of what she has felt since Sara's body was thrown down in front of her and her son. The fear that her family would be targeted by Lacroix. That her baby boy's life would be snuffed out by an arrow before he could walk, or speak. A rogue tear escaped from her eye.

He cried out in pain. "What are you doing?"

She jerked his shoulder while keeping his arm pinned in the awkward comfortable position, causing pain to hoot up and down his arm. "John Burke, and Tim Kaufmann, they were also shot dead with arrows." She then relaxed, her hold without giving leeway. "They're too dead to tell me why. So, you will."

"I can't." He whimpered.

She then slammed his arm back down against the stainless-steel bar of the railing of the bed. Causing him to cry out in pain, the cast on his arm now sporting a dent and a large crack that traveled up and down the arm. "Burke and Kaufmann! What do they have to do with you?"

He was tearing up, at the pain, of his already broken arm being slammed into the steel bar, and his arm held in a painful, awkward position. "We're all working on a deal, but it was supposed to be hush, hush."

She quickly released his arm and watched him cradle it as if it were a newborn baby. "What kind of deal?" She asked in a gentler voice.

"To build an oil pipeline, For ArmerTek…" Before he could continue, she watched helplessly as a black arrow found itself lodged in his chest, and his eyes glassed over. She closed her eyes, and put her hand over her mouth, as she recalled Sara looking eerily similar to the dead man in front of her.

She rushed over to the shattered window, to see the Komodo, on the opposite side of the street on a rooftop. He gave her a mock salute, as he walked off into the darkness.

She was taunting her. And she was going to give him justice. _Lex Talionis. _An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth.

The team was in The Bunker, talking about ArmerTek industries. A company that she had interned at with Jo. Things were simpler back then, it was just her, and Ted out in the field.

Lately, she had to remind herself that things just seemed better then, and despite the dark cloud that has been following her lately she had things to live for. Ollie, Connor, Speedy, Roy and even her one-person firm.

Thea had taken up the management of Verdant after Oliver had tried to run Queen Consolidated before Isabelle Rochev had taken advantage of Ollie's lack of business knowledge. CNRI had since moved, the new landlord had given the building to house people who had lost their homes, Laurel now often used the empty nightclub in the late morning, early afternoon.

Felicity typed rapidly on the keyboard. "Okay, I just merged all of Lacroix's victims' records. I can now run an algorithm to see who received money from ArmerTek.

Laurel brushed a tendril of hair off of her face. "How long will that take?"

Felicity shrugged. "Not long."

Diggle leaned against one of the tables. "A million to Kelso, one more to Burke. Two more to Kaufmann."'

Felicity continued, explaining that all the funds originated from an ArmerTek subsidiary from Qurac, which possesses the largest untapped oil field on the planet.

Laurel bristled at the mention of the company she interned with; it seemed her past was coming back to bite her in the ass. Even if it did feel like she should feel validated that ArmerTek was up to some shady business deals but she couldn't.

"It seems like ArmerTek was attempting to strike an oil deal."

Laurel clenched her fist. "Someone paid Lacroix to stop it."

Oliver walked closer to Laurel, and gently rubbed her back in small, gentle circles, knowing that she was under a lot of pressure and anxiety. He then spoke, not leaving Laurel's side. "None of that explains Sara."

Laurel turned her head to look at Oliver, whose hand was resting at the small of her back. "She told me that she worked in Qurac."

Roy folded his arms. "You think she brought work home with her, or perhaps work followed her home?

Oliver looked at the monitors, still trying to maintain his rational mind, while desperately trying to comfort his wife-to-be. "Who authorized the payments?"

Felicity brought up a dossier of a man named Tom Weston, a board member of ArmerTek.

"He's Lacroix's next target. What's his location?" He asked, feeling Laurel tense, he had to be ready for a fight. Either in the field or a verbal confrontation with her. He had to prevent her from being reckless in the field. At the same time, he saw Thea, who had sneaked in sometime during their briefing, slowly making her way to the suit displays to prevent Laurel from suiting up.

The monitor then displayed Star City Pledge Event, at Palmertech. He sighed, as he felt Laurel leave his embrace, and march past Thea. He almost took a sigh of relief, until he saw her marching to the cabinets holding pistols.

He quickly followed. "Laurel, where do you think you are going?"

In a blink of an eye, she had pulled out a firearm, and "I'm coming with you, one way or another." She said, glaring at him with a fiery determination.

She shook his head and took the gun from her hands. "Absolutely not."

"The only reason you know how to find him is because of me, not computers, nor tech. _Me_!"

Oliver squared his shoulders. "You were reckless, Laurel." Why didn't she understand that she had could have been killed, as well as risked exposing herself as a vigilante, or at the very least, could be facing charges and disbarment? She didn't seem to care about her life or realize that her anger was consuming her, and could lead to their son growing up without a mother. "The bastard almost put an arrow in you, Laurel."

He then slammed the Glock on a nearby bench. "If you want to go back in the field, you have to get your head in the game, and be able to keep up with me in a spar, and takedown either Thea or Roy. Until then, grieve for Sara, Laurel. And let me handle this."

He then walked away, but Laurel marched after him, hot on his heels. He sighed, couldn't she just let him do this for her, while she grieved? He is doing his best to help her grieve by trying to solve some of the issues, namely getting justice for Sara and giving Laurel closure.

"Don't tell me to stay put, and think I'll listen. You know me better than that!"

Oliver spun on his heel and walked towards her. "Sara was trained by the greatest killers in human history. Lacroix put her down. So, what do you think he will do to you? You are so consumed with anger and hate that you can't see the danger in front of you!"

"I only care about getting him." She fired back. "He's a threat to our family!"

"And I will." He promised. "I will get him."

"You couldn't before!" It was because of her that he now had a lead on him, her sister's killer. Shouldn't that grant her some benefit of the doubt, along with the training she already possessed? She had beaten Malcolm, so at the very least, she should be able to handle him, if it came to a confrontation.

He took a deep breath, to avoid saying something to her that they would both regrets, in a softer tone of voice Oliver spoke; "I won't let him escape again." He then moved closer to Laurel to squeeze her hand. "I promise."

After Oliver had left, and Diggle and Felicity attempted to ignore the tension by looking at the monitor. Laurel discreetly picked up the pistol and left. She didn't need the gun to make the hitman wish that he had never touched a hair on someone she loved. Even with her cry and skills, her Dad had told her to keep a gun handy in case the plan went sideways.

Dr. Palmer's pledge speech was interrupted when Komodo smashed through a window, sending small shards of glass everywhere around the decorated room from the floor, tables, and even into the platters of hors d'oeuvres, and champagne.

As the mercenary landed, many of the affluent patrons started fleeing the office space that was converted into a function room for the night. Komodo shot a grapple arrow at Tom Weston, the arrow pierced through the man's thigh "Come over here, Weston." He then proceeded to drag Weston, towards him, until a red arrow broke the rope, courtesy of Arsenal, allowing Weston to flee.

Komodo drew an arrow, and aimed Weston again, only to receive a red arrow from Speedy, who then started assisting the evacuation of the patrons who were too scared, or too shocked to flee. And to ensure that all the party members were able to escape and to ensure that the people were safe from any potential back-up plan that this assassin possessed.

Green Arrow then ran up to him and sent several hard strikes with the front of his bow to Komodo. The mercenary dodged a sweep kick and traded several punches to the Green Archer before Arsenal joined in using his Kali sticks to avoid being hit by Komodo's bow.

Eventually, Komodo rolled out rolled away from the archers and dived out the remains of the window, he had entered earlier, and fired a grapple arrow, and swung down to a lower level of the building.

Green Arrow ran over to his quiver, a sprinted to the window, simultaneously while he ordered Arsenal to help Speedy evacuate and ensure that Weston is safe. He then dived out the window, and emulated his foe, by swinging down to the lower level.

Green Arrow, silently swept the dark office room, until he finally caught a glimpse of his target. He hoped that by getting Lacroix, it would give Laurel closure, and he would be able to help her.

He eventually walked down the down to a dead end, he spun around when he heard Komodo's footsteps. Komodo had his bow drawn and aimed at him.

"So, you're the Emerald Archer, and they were you're Ruby Archers? I got to say, I thought you would be taller, more intimidating. Instead, all I got were Robin Hood and his Merry Men rejects."

He had him. Oliver thought. He could finally help Laurel start to grieve for her sister, and they could move with their lives, without the specter of Sara's killer looming over them. They wouldn't have to keep looking over their shoulders to ensure that their family was safe, that this killer wasn't hunting them down. "It's over. Lower your bow, and live."

Komodo scoffed. "We both know that is a lie."

Both archers fired their arrows, which ended up colliding with each other, and harmlessly fell to the wayside.

Komodo quickly pulled out a second arrow and almost instantly fired the arrow at his foe. Green Arrow deftly caught the arrow and fired it back, which pinned Lacroix through the shoulder to the wall behind him.

Green Arrow then marched over to Komodo, and snatched the bow from his hands, and ripped off his black mask. "Who hired you?" He growled.

Lacroix gestured with his head behind Oliver. "Who's the broad?"

Oliver squeezed his eyes shut, and prayed it was Speedy, despite already knowing it was Laurel. She had the gun that she had earlier, aimed at Komodo's head. He slowly took a step towards her, and used his body to shield Lacroix, knowing that Laurel would never shoot him. "You don't want to do this."

"Yes, I do. So, you better move, _Robin Hood_!"

He had to resist smiling at the nickname; she had used that name whenever she was angry or disappointed in him when they didn't know who was beneath their masks. it eventually became a term of endearment for him, in private or when she was in the field, during The Undertaking.

"Killing him won't bring her back." He said, trying to appeal to her better nature. She was always the better of them. Even his mother had shared that sentiment when he asked his mother for her engagement ring to propose to Laurel.

Her eyes glared at him, before trying to spot an opening to shoot Lacroix, an opening that never appeared, "I know it won't bring her back, she's dead!"

He desperately wanted to lower his hood and pull down his mask so that he could speak to her face to face. "I've stood in your boots. Where you are so consumed with rage that you can hardly breathe. And you think that taking revenge will make it better. But Laurel," He gave her a small shake of his head. "It won't." He bit his lip, before continuing. "It will make it worse; it will consume you."

She shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. "No, he murdered Sara."

He was in some way relieved that in her rage, she had forgotten about cry. He supposed it was a mixture of her not growing up with her powers, and trained without them, and her blind rage forcing her to rely on a firearm, rather than her enhanced ability, or her martial prowess.

"Who's Sara?" Muttered Lacroix from the opposite side of the room.

She took a few large steps towards him, which Oliver quickly moved in front of her, blocking her field of view on Lacroix. "My Sister! You, sick son of a bitch!" She yelled. "Two nights ago, you put an arrow in her chest." She said, blinking to prevent herself from crying. "My baby saw his Aunt fall from the building above us!"

Oliver could hear her unspoken fears, the same ones that he shared. That this man could be targeting his family. His heart thumped against the walls of his chest.

Komodo chuckled. Not seeming to care about the dangerous predicament he found himself in, "Two nights ago..." He grimaced from the arrow pinning him to the wall. "I was drunk off my face in Blüdhaven."

"You're lying." She said with disbelief.

"I'm proud of my work. I wouldn't lie to inflate my tally."

"Big words, when you have a gun to your face!" She snapped back at the incapacitated man.

Oliver took a step towards her, still blocking her view of Lacroix. Laurel didn't deserve blood on her hands. The guilt. "You need to stop and listen to him. Think about your training. Anger doesn't help, take a breath and listen to him."

She shook her head. "No." She said, "No, he killed my sister."

"Laurel, Sara wouldn't…"

She shouted at Oliver, interrupting him. "Don't you dare tell me that this isn't what Sara would have wanted! And don't tell me to think of her, because that's all I have been thinking about, my family!"

He gritted his teeth and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, a gesture that was the polar opposite to what people thought of when they heard the name Green Arrow.

He hated pulling this card, but she had to know what was at stake, "And what about your son, Laurel? What of Connor? What about yourself? Your baby sister? Your fiancé?"

Laurel swore as she shoved the pistol into Oliver's gloved open hand. He then grabbed her hand and gently walked her out of the area.

"We have to go." The Green Arrow said. Laurel nodded, and whispered her assent, and followed him out. It was at that moment, Oliver realized that Laurel was hanging on by a thread, that only he and their family was keeping Laurel from falling into the dark abyss.

The next morning, Oliver got off his phone with Felicity and saw Laurel feeding their son in the highchair. He smiled at the scene before he frowned. Her anger was getting the best of her, and he hoped that she wouldn't snap, if another bad event occurred, with this city, and their luck it was only a matter of time.

"Laurel, they confirmed his alibi. There were two homicides in Blüdhaven that match his M.O. The same night Sara was killed."

She froze, looking at the man that she loved, the man that had prevented her from spending life in jail away from her baby, and what was left of her family. "I almost killed Lacroix."

He took hold of her hands and rubbed her knuckles with his thumbs, not caring about the sticky syrup from the canned peaches that coated her hands. "The only thing that matters is that you didn't."

"Because you were there." She mumbled.

"No, it was because you have a good heart. It is one of the many reasons why I love you, and our life together. You had the strength to resist the temptation." He sighed, and looked at his son who was making a hand-painting with some of the fruit, then back to her. "Pretty Bird, the trail has run cold. And I promise you that I will find whoever did this. I will" He vowed. "But I don't know when."

Laurel blinked away tears and used Connor's bib to clean their son's syrup coated face and hands. After Laurel had cleaned him up, she picked him up and placed him in his playpen. She looked back to see Oliver behind her and felt his arms wrap around her, as they watched Connor play, and babble with the hawk his Aunt gave him before she was killed.

"Okay. Ollie." She whispered and smiled when she felt him kiss her head.


	4. Haunted

Oliver, Roy, and Diggle had just dug up Sara's old grave that rested next to her father's grave. Thea was resting her head resting against her surrogate sister, while she held her nephew in her arms, and Felicity was standing nearby.

Laurel felt that despite doing this in the middle of the night, it felt like a solemn occasion and not wrong. The Sara that had left with Oliver was not the one that they found, she felt more comfortable in the shadows than in the public eye. This is what she would have wanted, a small funeral with just her friends and family.

Oliver broke the melancholic silence and spoke, with his eyes darting at Laurel, Thea, and his son. "She can rest now. She's home."

Everyone watched as Felicity moved to where the large pile of dirt was, and grab a handful, and throw the dirt onto Sara's final resting place.

She looked up at Laurel, who was crying on Thea's shoulder and gave her sleeping son a small kiss to his head. "It's a Jewish custom." Her voice broke as she spoke. "I know that she wasn't… but it feels right."

Oliver gave her a small, grateful nod as Roy passed a small bouquet of white lilies to him. Oliver then gave each team member a Lilly each and gave two to Laurel after Thea had handed Connor to her. He then led the procession and silently farewelled his friend and future sister-in-law before dropping the flower on her coffin.

He watched as everyone slowly did the same, taking turns until it finally came to Laurel. She handed one to Connor, who promptly plucked a petal off, before tossing the flower into the grave, not realizing its significance.

Laurel took a few minutes before gently dropping the flower onto her sister's grave. "Bye Sar-Bear." She then ran into Oliver's arms. "It's not fair, Ollie. No one will know what she has done, who she was. It's not fair. It's not fair."

He wrapped his arms around her, careful of the infant in her arms, and consoled her the best he could. "I'm so sorry, Pretty Bird," he whispered softly into her blonde locks.

Diggle moved closer to the small grieving family. "We will know of her sacrifices and heroics, Laurel." She looked up at him and let out a shuddered breath. "I know it doesn't count for much, but me and Lyla we would like your blessing to name our daughter, Sara. We will never forget."

She gave him a watery smile. "Thank you." She managed to say, fighting the lump in the back of her throat.

* * *

Later that night, Oliver was lying in bed next to Laurel. It was the first time since Sara was killed that he had slept with Laurel. Lying next to the woman he loved gave him some respite from the world that seemed to want to batter him and his down.

His mind had been going in circles nonstop since Sara's death. He was worried about Laurel's state of mind; he was worried that she may lash out at the wrong person, or explode like she was about to with Lacroix, and kill someone. And he couldn't bear to see Laurel murder, someone, to see her soul be shattered by the act of betraying her ideals and ethics.

Perhaps she needed to go back to her roots? Laurel needed to go back to the person who had equipped her with the knowledge and skillset to move past her rage and grief she had for him and Sara. As much as he loathed Grant, perhaps he could help Laurel as he had done once before?

He gently shook Laurel's shoulder. "Laurel?" He repeated her name several times after she groaned in annoyance.

"Ollie?" She asked drowsily, and rolled over, and bury her blonde head into his chest.

"I know that we haven't spoken much beyond what has been happening." He gestured between them. "I'm worried about you Laurel; you have lost so many people close to you."

"I will be fine once we find out whoever did this to my family." She said, defiantly. "I can't sleep well knowing that this person could be targeting my family. We have both pissed off a lot of powerful and ruthless people, Ollie."

That was an understatement. Even if the people didn't necessarily have the desire to destroy Starling, they had made enemies. And if one of them was to slowly start to gain influence and target them? He shuddered at the thought, he would protect his family, Oliver promised himself.

"I need to know that you won't fly off the handle if we have a new suspect and that you trust me enough to shoulder this burden for our family, you did it once for Speedy, let me do the same for you." She nodded. He had to resist snuggling with her, this was important. "I need you to promise?"

She sighed. "I've never been particularly good at not wearing my heart on my sleeve… And I can't promise I won't argue or voice my discontent, but I trust you, Ollie. You stayed with us even when you could have fled after The Undertaking, and after what happened with Tommy… "She sighed. "I trust you to do what is right."

His lips inched upwards before he pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. They were a team. Partners Family. "OK." He said before he kissed her again.

* * *

The team minus Laurel. She had started to put her nose to the grindstone. In an attempt to try to alleviate her pain and do some legal case work out of Ted's gym.

"Where is she? Where is Sara?" Nyssa asked, with an almost polite demeanor which contrasted with her threatening them with a bow and arrow.

Oliver scowled. Nyssa and The League looking for their compatriot seemed par for the course. He had only just managed to prevent Laurel from exploding from the stress and the continual lost she has been experiencing. Even now, he knew that she was still struggling to keep her head above the tide, and it will only take something to push her under for good.

Nyssa explained that her beloved was sent to this corner of the Earth, particularly back to her family's home city two weeks ago. And that since she was dispatched to Starling, it had been radio silent.

Oliver swallowed. Praying that Nyssa possessed more patience and understanding than his fiancée had. He prayed that he didn't have to navigate another potential minefield. "Nyssa. There is something that I need to tell you."

Her eyes went wide and glassy. "Sara's dead?" She asked, and at Oliver's slight nod, she lowered her bow.

"I'm so sorry, Nyssa."

Nyssa blinked away her tears. "It was an arrow wasn't it?"

Oliver tensed. "It was, and I want you to know that it wasn't any one of us here."

"Where is her body?" Oliver tried to say her name to help her grieve, but she shrugged it off. "Where?"

"We buried her in her grave from seven years ago, next to her father." Without another word, Nyssa stormed out of The Bunker and presumably headed towards Sara's resting place.

Oliver looked at Roy. He was more patient than Thea was. And wouldn't get antsy staying at a distance observing and tailing Nyssa. "She is hiding something, follow her from a distance, and observe what she does, where she goes, and who she talks to."

Roy nodded. "On it." Before quickly suiting up and leaving the premises.

"I don't suppose that you are going to have father and son time, are you?" Thea asked as she leaned against her brother.

"Is that your way of asking for a Queen night in?" He asked with a smile.

"Well, big brother, I thought you would never ask." She said with a knowing smirk. "I'll buy the popcorn and drinks, while you choose a movie, and look after my nephew. It's going to be his first official Queen family movie marathon."

"What about all those times we did that with Laurel?"

"She's family, but not a Queen… yet." She gave him a pointed look and a grin that made Oliver feel uneasy. "And that, dear brother, is not her fault, but rather yours, how long are you two going to be living in sin, anyway?" She asked playfully before she walked to the stairs and turned around to look at her brother. "And for the love of god, Ollie. Do _not_ select The Wizard of Oz. We have to show your son some good movies, so he won't constantly re-watch that damn movie, _his mother_ loves to watch."

"Oh, so now, Laurel is _only_ Connor's mother and not your sister?" He asked, teasing his sister.

"I love Laurel. I hate that damn movie. It's like one of the few flaws she has." The Queen siblings chuckled, as Thea walked out to go shopping for their movie marathon, while Oliver went to pick up Connor from Lyla and John's.

* * *

Oliver and Thea were watching Die Hard, now that Connor was asleep in his room. This was one of the few times in the past week or so that he had been able to relax and unwind, he only wished that Laurel was resting in his arms, watching the movie with him and his sister. As a family.

"I'm worried about her." Oliver breathed, he didn't know what spurred that remark to come forward.

His sister adjusted her sitting position to look towards him. "She's going through a lot."

"She went out in the field, Speedy. She could have been killed. Her anger is making her blind to the dangers of the job."

Thea hummed understandingly, "She never actually promised to never go out into the field, I think what she told me at least was that she wouldn't go out as her alter ego. And she hasn't. I also think, Ollie that it isn't that fair to think that she is blind about the dangers. Is it that much different to when you almost killed Slade after he kidnapped Laurel?" She is just trying to keep all of us safe, even if she isn't going about it in the safest manner.

Oliver exhaled, while Thea took a final gulp of her soda, "Want a refill?" Oliver nodded. As Thea got up and padded over to the kitchen to refill their drinks, he got a phone call from Roy. With a reluctant sigh, he answered the call. "What have you got?"

Roy then explained what Nyssa had been up to; visiting Sara's grave, casing the rooftop, and the alley, their friend had died and fallen into, and finally to some sort of League safe house.

Oliver stood up and explained to Thea that he needed to go and asked that his sister stay until he or Laurel came back home.

"Of course." She said. "You didn't need to ask." With that, she gave her brother a strong hug, before sitting down on the couch and resumed the movie they were watching, while Oliver put on his jacket and left."

* * *

Later that night, after Nyssa had explained that Malcolm was alive, and somehow once again escaped death. Oliver, Roy, Diggle, and Nyssa were in The Bunker. She explained how Malcolm had once been a member of The League, one of the highest-ranking stations second to that of Ra's himself. And that he was released, on the understanding that he would not violate the League's laws.

Roy scoffed. "You guys are professional killers. It's a pretty low bar."

Nyssa gave him a look of derision, "Merlyn's Undertaking violated the League's principals." She then looked at Oliver. "When you killed him, we considered the matter settled. Until we received word from your mother, Moira Queen, that Merlyn had faked his demise."

Diggle blinked. "It's not the first time that Malcolm has risen from the dead."

Nyssa looked at the men, confused. "What do you mean?"

Oliver wiped his face with his hands. "Laurel. a year before I came back to Starling had fought and killed him. She said that he had burned alive. She didn't know he was Malcolm at the time; she only knew him as Tempest's enforcer." And an ally to Daniel Brickwell, a member of his cabal.

Nyssa nodded but didn't seem surprised. "He was working with this Daniel Brickwell to likely have access to parts of The Glades for his Undertaking."

Oliver continued as he moved towards the computers. "We found these, on Sara's camera from her safe house. "The computer displayed numerous photographs of Malcolm, conducting business throughout the city.

Roy quirked his brow. "I thought Lance and Hilton found Malcolm's broken body?"

"Malcolm was a powerful man, with a lot of contacts. I'm willing to bet that he had a friend or someone who owed him something in the coroner's office."

"It wouldn't be the first-time corruption took place in Starling." Muttered Digg with a shake of his head.

"There are other ways a person can extend or return to the land of the living," Nyssa said before she explained that after learning that Malcolm continued to breathe, Ra's had ordered his assassins to trail the globe to hunt him down so that he could receive League justice. They were ordered to look into every rumor, whisper, and trail they found, no matter how vague or unreliable it may seem.

"And one of these whispers lead Sara back to Starling?"

Oliver nodded. "She was tailing him, and we are going to retrace her steps." He said, wondering how he was going to explain to Laurel that the trail wasn't as cold as he had thought, thanks to Nyssa.

"You found evidence on Sara?"

Roy nodded, walked over to where they kept the evidence on their friend's murder and handed Nyssa a blank piece of paper. "We found this scrap, blank piece of paper."

Nyssa smirked and looked at Oliver. "Do you have a flame?"

After heating up the invisible ink, Oliver smiled. And explained that his father had a notebook with the same sort of invisible ink. To which Nyssa nodded and said that she suspects, he received the notebook from Merlyn.

Oliver nodded. "Almost everything traces back to Merlyn." Without him, he would never have been marooned on Lian Yu and never given Slade the Mirakuru, Brick wouldn't have aligned with Tempest, nor received their funding or aid, No Undertaking. Tommy, his mother, Lance, Sara all would have been alive and healthy if Malcolm wasn't a sociopath."

"It is called ghost ink," Nyssa said, before explaining that the League used it to conceal secrets and documents.

Oliver nodded, as he studied the note. "It's Sara's handwriting. She writes about Merlyn's whereabouts." He then spots a name. "_Jansen._ question mark?"

Diggle moved to the computers and ran the name in the database to see that the name belonged to a Buddhist monk. He then gave them the details.

* * *

After casing the Buddhist temple, Oliver watched as Nyssa drew her bow on Jansen.

"_Oliver I found Jansen,_" Dig said through the comms.

Oliver shook his head, as he watched Nyssa advance slowly upon the man. "Negative. I have eyes on him."

"_Negative. Whoever is up there, it's not Jansen. We are standing next to a plaque made in dedication to him, born 1961 to 2012" _

Oliver clenched his jaw and bolted towards Nyssa, not caring if anyone heard him. He could only watch as he ran towards Nyssa fighting with someone, followed by a thick cloud of smoke as he entered the small building.

Nyssa bellowed at him. "Where is he!?"

Oliver spun on his heels and fired a tracer arrow at the fleeing black figure, as they vaulted over a small wall. The arrow just nicked the man's shoulder, cutting the fabric, and his skin, judging by the small wince the figure gave.

The man turned around to reveal Malcolm, who gave him a cocky smile and disappeared into the night.

Oliver froze, it couldn't be… He and Laurel had watched him fall off the side of the building. His body was broken, there was no way he could have survived that fall. _"He couldn't have survived the fire either." _Laurel's voice whispered in his mind.

Oliver snarled; Nyssa had said that The League had a way to extend one's life. Perhaps Malcolm had learned this mystical art before he left Nanda Par Bat? It would explain how he managed to live despite being immolated and later falling and braking almost every bone in his body.

* * *

As the team filtered into the base, he saw Laurel who was there waiting for him, likely so they could go home together. He sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to handle the situation well. Oliver wished he could do it privately in their home and discuss what happened, without worrying about the team morale, at seeing their two leaders constantly butting heads.

Two people, who were supposed to love each other and give each other the benefit of the doubt. Not claw at each other, or let their hurts fester until the other exploded. It was not healthy for them, and certainly not the thing he, nor Laurel wanted their son to become normalized to.

Laurel looked at him. He could see her bruised knuckles from boxing bare-knuckled against the hard bags. He frowned, as he gently took her hands into his.

"What's going on? Did you find Sara's killer?" She asked, her voice sounding almost hopeful.

He swallowed, preparing himself for the inevitable argument. "We have a suspect. Malcolm Merlyn is alive. Again." She opened her mouth, but no words came out of her mouth, so he continued. "Sara came back looking for him. But we think he found her first."

Laurel's face slid into one of stoicism. "And his whereabouts?"

"We are working on that." He said, rubbing her knuckles gently. "He got away from us earlier tonight. But," He said, interrupting her argument before it could leave her mouth. "I hit him with a tracer arrow that uses nanotechnology, we can locate him, he can run but he can't hide."

"So, you could have hit him with a lethal arrow, instead, you decided to go for a flesh wound and hunt for him later? What if he kills more people while you tagged him and let him back out into the wild? What will you do when you finally catch up to him?"

"I'm not a killer anymore, Laurel. You know that." She had been with him since he returned, she was the one that showed him that there was a better way than killing, that they were just helping the justice system by picking up those that fell between the cracks.

"Maybe, but Ollie, Merlyn is. He killed Tommy and eighty-two innocent people. Not to mention anyone else he killed. How many more people are gonna die before you do what we couldn't and put him down permanently? Me? Speedy? Or _our_ baby?"

Her words felt like a slap in the face. It was a cheap shot, and he knew that she didn't mean to infer that he was not protecting their family. That he was as bad as Merlyn. She was angry and hurting and lashing out. He took a calming breath and exhaled to prevent saying something that he would regret.

"You think that Sara would want that?" He asked softly.

"Yes." She answered adamantly. "I do. He is a threat to us, Ollie. Our Family." She then marched out, and up the stairs.

* * *

Laurel was briskly walking down one of the connecting alleyways, that would eventually lead her to Wildcat's gym. She couldn't go home to Connor angry, and full of rage. She never wanted her son to see that dark part of her.

Speedy would likely aid her if she decided to go after Malcolm, albeit with reluctance. Not because of who they would kill, but the act itself. She knew that she had dedicated her life to saving lives and punishing the guilty, but never to kill someone. But Thea would help her because she put her family first. And Laurel knew that deep down, Oliver felt the same way, but he was often forced to sometimes put their needs below others.

It was something that they had agreed on when she was pregnant with their son. That as much as they loved their family, and would do anything to keep them safe, there would be times where they had to put others before themselves and their wants.

"Laurel." Her sister's girlfriend called after her.

She kept walking, but replied. "I just found out that Malcolm was just raised from the ashes for a second time and killed my sister. I'm sure that you can understand that I have more important things to worry about than wanting to talk right now."

"I understand, your grief." That made her stand still and cease walking towards the gym. "I loved her too."

Laurel turned to see Nyssa looking more human than she had ever seen before. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Nyssa gave her a sad, tight smile. "Thank you, and I express the same condolences to you, as her kin." The assassin's throat bobbed. "I promised Sara, and now I promise this to you. We will find Merlyn, and I will do what your beloved refuses to do, put an arrow through his heart, and make him a head shorter. It is but one of the few ways to prevent him from coming back."

She let out a shuddered breath and closed her eyes. She had the chance to get justice for Sara, to allow The League and Nyssa to carry that burden for her family. But it would mean throwing everything she believed in and going behind Ollie's back. She had given him her word that she would trust him.

She shook her head. "No. As much as I want it to happen, I don't give you my blessing. I know Oliver will do what we believe is right." Before Nyssa could speak, Laurel turned and decided to go to her car instead, and go home.


	5. Before the Storm

Oliver, John, and Roy were discussing allotments for a timetable for their vigilantism. So, some nights they could train, rest, or spend time out as people rather than vigilantes. Oliver even before Sara's death had been yearning to spend more time with his family, with Connor and Laurel.

If his plan worked, Laurel would also be able to gradually re-establish herself as the Black Canary, Starling's first hero. It would give her a purpose again and an avenue to harness her anger into something productive, instead of stewing in her anger. As much as it would pain him seeing her don on the black suit, he knew that she had only hung her mask temporarily. And that she felt alive when she was helping people, and bloodying her fists, trying to keep Starling safe.

Nyssa walked down to see Oliver. "My sources say that you met a man matching Merlyn's description. And yet you did not kill him?"

"No. He swore to me that he didn't kill Sara."

She scoffed in derision. "A man who is known to lie. How do you know if he is not spinning yet another one? How do you know he is telling the truth?"

"I believe him. Because he swore to me on his daughter's life, as a father I know that is not something you ever swear on lightly." If at all.

He then walked past her and proceeded to study the five-color coded timetable on the bench. Green, black, dark red, bright red, and bronze, representing himself, Laurel, Speedy, Arsenal, and Diggle, respectively.

Before he could start moving the colors into the days of the week, to get a feel for the program, Nyssa spoke, breaking the tense silence.

"We had heard rumors that Merlyn fathered another child. We could never confirm the existence of such a child." Oliver sighed, not losing eye contact with the assassin in front of him. "You know who it is." She realized, taking a measured step towards him.

"I do." He answered, straightening his back and squaring his shoulders, towering over Nyssa's smaller frame, despite knowing that it would not intimidate her.

She took a few steps towards him, slowly and in an intimidating manner. "If you put me through the effort of finding out on my own… I may have to exact a prize from whoever it is you're protecting."

"My sister." He said. "Thea, Laurel's baby sister, and my son's only living aunt." Nyssa sneered, as she took several paces back, reeling from the discovery. "She is the reason he came back to Starling City, he killed several of Slade's Mirakuru enhanced soldiers, when Speedy was guarding the train station, helping people escape." He looked at Roy. "That's why she had several cracked and bruised ribs. But she never saw who protected her."

"And that is why you continue to spare Merlyn, and have convinced my beloved's own kin to forego vengeance, justice?"

He closed his eyes. Nyssa had tempted Laurel to circumvent his wishes to kill Malcolm. And despite her rage and anger, Laurel had rejected Nyssa's proposal. He internally felt pride that despite everything she has been enduring, Laurel was still willing to trust him, to stand fast in front of temptation. The darkness that was threatening to overtake her hadn't corrupted her, she stood fast.

Oliver shook his head. "It had nothing to do with that, and Laurel has her own agency. She believes in justice, not vengeance." That was something that she had inherited from her father. He then continued. "Malcolm explained that in his own twisted way, that he loves Thea. He swore to me, on her life."

"I swore an oath of my own to my father, Sara, and to your beloved. That I would see Sara's killer receive justice in the truest and oldest sense of the word." She then walked out. As she did, Oliver tried to call out to her, only to be halted by Diggle, who stood in front of him.

"We have to stop her."

Diggle crossed his arms, blocking him from the stairs. "Do we? Listen I understand why you can't kill him, why you convinced Laurel. I get it. All the reasons." It was true, like him, John was also a father. And wanted to make Starling a safer place for their child to grow up in. "Perhaps he killed Sara, maybe he didn't."

"He didn't," Oliver said resolutely. Oliver, himself could never imagine making an oath on his child's life, let alone lie about it. Connor was the most important person in his life, he could never see himself, nor Laurel allowing their son to be put in harm's way.

Diggle didn't relent. "Either Either way, Laurel made a point when she found out about Malcolm. The world will be a safer place without him in it." It reminded Oliver that Diggle was a military man, like Slade. It was something they had inherited from their mentors. The idea that sometimes it's better to kill someone to make the world a safer place.

He always thought Laurel had escaped that, that Grant was different. He wasn't so sure anymore., Laurel merely voiced her rage, but when faced with the opportunity to do the deed, she balked, was that Grant's influence or Quintin's conscious? Regardless, Laurel has a good heart to see and do good in so much pain.

"You made a vow not to kill, man. You wanted to be a man that your son could be proud of. I get that, better than anyone else. You won't be killing him, Nyssa will." Oliver swallowed. If he sent Nyssa to kill him, was that any different to him killing Malcolm?

* * *

Malcolm was sitting in his penthouse. A suite that belonged to one of his aliases that had no known connection to him. He picked up his crystal glass with cognac, and took a sip, he looked out the window, to see purple smoke, billowing from the city skyline.

He dropped his glass on the ebony table before rushing towards his safe room and towards his suit. Purple smoke only heralded dark news.

* * *

Oliver had called a meeting for the team, except for Felicity, who was busy working late with Raymond Palmer. He had finished filling in Laurel about what had happened, and Malcolm's relation to Thea.

"So, we know at the very least, Speedy only inherited her martial prowess from your mother's sperm donor."

Oliver smiled, as Laurel handed him a tablet device. "What's this?" he asked as he saw footage of a traffic camera, that seemed unremarkable until he saw the purple smoke. "Smoke signal?"

"It was recorded ten minutes ago." Laurel said, brushing a tendril of hair out of her face, "Now, while Sara couldn't reveal too much about The League, she alluded to the fact that some of their communication systems were quite outdated." Oliver was proud of her, that since their talk the other night, Laurel had been helping them more with vigilantism, even if it was from the sidelines until they could arrange the shifts for patrols.

Diggle nodded. "I'm willing to bet my savings that the signal indicates that Nyssa is holding Thea hostage."

Oliver agreed. "True, and the video supplies us with a location." He then ordered Diggle to monitor the perimeter to keep an eye out for any hostiles preparing to ambush him.

Roy stood from the bench he was resting on and stumbled slightly. "Where do you want me?" He still couldn't believe that just one person had gotten the drop on both him and Thea.

"Here, or at home. You have league tranquilizer in your system." The younger man reluctantly nodded.

"Ollie? I need to be out there. Speedy is my sister as well…"

Oliver shook his head. "Laurel, you haven't been out in the field for just over a year. And the first people you set your sights on are the world's best killers?" Oliver grabbed her free hand. And kissed the back of it. "If we absolutely need help, I know who we can call." He then tilted his head towards Roy. "Keep an eye on him."

Laurel gave him a reluctant smile and walked up to him, giving him a small hug before pulling back. "Bring Speedy home safe. And Ollie, keep in mind that while you aren't a killer. Thea is caught between two trained killers." With that, she gave him a kiss and helped Roy out to her car.

* * *

Nyssa looked up at the bound and gagged Thea Queen who was suspended from the rafters, several feet from the ground.

"I apologize once again for involving you. But I must remind you that I am more than aware of your training and prowess. The bindings wrapped around you are of League design. The more you struggle the tighter the binds will become."

She then walked around to see her captive's face. "But my quarrel is with your father."

"My father has been dead for years." Thea groaned as she struggled a bit only to find the bindings tighten around her abdomen. She then thought of Quintin and Walter, who had been something like father figures to her.

Laurel's father, her surrogate father, had succumbed to his injuries dealt by Slade Wilson's soldiers. Thea still remembered when Oliver was called not long after he had returned from Lian Yu. How She had informed him that Quintin had died in Laurel's arms on the docks.

"Not Robert Queen, your true father, the man whose seed you are born from; Al Saher, The Magician. Known to the uninitiated as; Malcolm Merlyn, though I hear that he has other names that your people have given him; The Ninja-Archer, Dark Archer and The Copy Cat Archer."

"If you know him, then you know what he will do to you when he gets here." She then chuckled. "Hell, you should fear Ollie more."

"Your brother is of no consequence to me. As to your father, he will die. Slowly. My father has taught me ways to cut a man without him succumbing to death. After we have everything we need, my father shall take enjoyment out of flaying the traitor."

"Sounds like the father of the year." Thea scoffed, still trying to wriggle her wrists.

"My father may be The Demon," Nyssa granted. "But your father is The Devil."

Thea scoffed, feeling slightly woozy from being suspended. "I only have had three fathers. Robert Queen and Walter for raising me, and Quentin Lance who took me in as one of his own, and helped me become a better person."

Before Nyssa could speak, an arrow flew through the air and cut the tight fabric that was suspending Thea. She fell, feeling both a semblance of relief from no longer being bound, followed by fear knowing she was about to hit the ground head first, she would barely have time to drop and roll.

Luckily, The Green Arrow, her brother, dived towards Thea, and caught her, before putting her on the ground safely. He whispered in her ear, so quietly that she almost missed it. He told her to head to his loft, Laurel was keeping an eye on Roy, and looking after Connor. Thea was to go to Laurel to check if she medical attention.

Thea nodded as her brother commanded her to run. This was no place for her to be in her civvies, it would raise too many questions why Thea Queen was in league with the vigilantes, which could draw lines to the others that she would prefer remained a secret.

Green Arrow turned to see Nyssa unsheathe her scimitar. "Apparently, you and I handle grief differently. She then swung her sword at him.

Oliver deftly avoided her strikes and lunges. She reared back and swung her sword with a low swipe, Oliver flipped over the blade, and retaliated using his bow as a staff, he blocked her blade, before sending a kick to her abdomen.

As he trailed backwards, getting to a more open part of the warehouse so he could move easier, Nyssa advanced swinging her blade left and right, not allowing Oliver much to do besides go on the defensive.

Nyssa managed to swing him around, and before she could rest her blade on his throat, her sword was knocked to the wayside by a projectile. The cluttering of the steel echoed through the warehouse.

Green Arrow rolled out of the way to see Malcolm dressed in his League gear. The suit he had worn when he almost killed him. The same suit that he almost killed Laurel in.

"There is a misunderstanding the three of us need to clear up." The older man said.

Nyssa bared her teeth. "A conversation I'm rather eager to have over your bloodied rotten corpse."

Malcolm released a volley of arrows, one after the other, as Nyssa used a scarf to block, and knock the missiles away safely.

Oliver had to admit there was a certain elegance to the way Nyssa fought. The fluidity of her movements was something he had only witnessed a few times in the past. It differed from his assortment of martial arts and to Laurel's graceful yet aggressive movements. It was almost like she was dancing.

Malcolm then jumped down from his perch, as Nyssa withdrew a dagger. The two League trained fighters were fighting to kill one another, neither giving each other quarter as either on lunged or struck each other.

Oliver moved around the two fighters, watching them, and ensuring that neither killed the other.

Malcolm took a small window that Nyssa had unintentionally given and fired three arrows pinning her to a metal frame.

Malcolm had her dead to rights. Oliver fired a flashbang arrow that caused Malcolm to be caught unaware, and drop to his knees. The Green Arrow then drew another arrow aiming it at Malcolm who knelt in front of him reluctantly.

"Do it, Oliver!" Nyssa cried, with equal parts goading and pleading. "He killed Sara, and your friend, his own son." A tear slid down her cheek. "How long before he corrupts your sister? Set's his sights on Laurel again? Before he puts your babe in harm's way?"

Oliver swallowed. She was right. He knew it. Malcolm had killed so many people. He had tried to kill Laurel; He killed Tommy, how long before he did something to Thea, to Connor?

He could feel his heart beating against his chest. It would give Laurel some closure, but at what cost? He knew that his killing Malcolm would put a wedge between him and Laurel. She was angry and hurting, but he knew deep down that she would never forgive herself, for having Merlyn killed or having him doing the deed.

Malcolm removed his mask, panting, sweat glistening across his forehead. "There is blood on my hands. Almost too much to contemplate, that was never up for debate. But I promise you, that Sara Lance's blood is not on my hands." He said raising his hands, as a gesture of his innocence.

"Kill him!" Nyssa commanded, almost begged.

Malcolm's face became red in fury, as he glared at the Heir of The Demon. "I did not kill your beloved!" He snapped at her. He exhaled and spoke a little more calmly. "Your father, he doubted Sara's loyalties the moment you brought her into your home. Even more so, once Sara found out there was a new addition to her family. The crimson thread of kinship is stronger than any oath sworn." His lips slightly upturned, as if he was provoking her, "You know as well as I, what your father is capable of."

Oliver looked at Nyssa, who was attempting to keep her emotions under control. Malcolm continued. "Ra's will and has killed without hesitation or mercy. Do you really need me to tell you what he would do to the degenerate who stole his beloved daughter's heart?"

He then stood and walked towards Oliver, seemingly unworried that he still had his bow drawn.

"Oliver Nyssa doesn't believe me," he then gulped. "If you don't believe me... If you truly believe that a father could swear on his child's life, then listen to her. Put an arrow through my heart, then use her sword to relieve me of my head. And I promise you, that I cannot ever bother you or yours ever again."

Oliver stood still. Frozen. He was once again faced with the dilemma of killing Malcolm the threat to his family. Laurel had faced it earlier and had resisted her demons, but she always had a gentle heart. He didn't. Killers trained and molded him.

After a few minutes of tense, filled silence, Malcolm nodded. And started to walk away from Oliver and Nyssa.

Oliver pulled back the drawstring and aimed at the retreating form of Malcolm. The man hesitated before he stopped. "You may not have killed Sara, but you are still a murderer." He could still see Tommy's eviscerated body, how he had clutched his stomach.

Malcolm swung himself around with a cruel smile. "What are you going to do?" He goaded. "Arrest me?"

"I can have the SCPD here in three minutes," Oliver growled.

"True. But in half that time, I will escape whatever prison they put me in. You know that, and so does she." He said with a gesture towards Nyssa. "The League trained us. No prison can hold us for too long!" He then gave a cocky grin. "Not even the one that you have for Mr. Wilson on Lian Yu. There is only but one way to stop us. "

Oliver almost dropped his bow. As Malcolm voiced Oliver's thoughts. "This leaves you with only one option. To break your vows that you made to your city, to your fiancée, and your friends and family. You have to kill me."

Oliver felt Nyssa's pleading eyes on him. He could save everyone he loves by killing Malcolm right now. Only the cost would be his whole world. Laurel, Connor, Thea…

"Will you kill your sister's father?" Malcolm asked. Oliver lowered his bow, with a clenched jaw, and let Malcolm escape.

* * *

Diggle, Nyssa, and Oliver walked into his loft to see Laurel feeding their son dinner, Thea was sitting next to her reading one of Laurel's wedding magazines, helping Laurel plan their wedding, while Roy was lounging on the sofa, resting off the tranquilizer.

Oliver looked at his sister, looking her over for any bruises or cuts but saw none. "You ok, Speedy?" Thea nodded, as she went back to reading the magazine next to her surrogate sister and nephew.

As he turned, Nyssa slugged him across the jaw, causing him to stumble somewhat. "You deserve far worse."

Roy jumped up from the couch, still looking under the weather. "What's going on?"

"Malcolm didn't kill Sara." He then looked at Laurel, who was wiping their son's face as he babbled, blissfully unaware of the conversation. He waited as Laurel took their son to another room and returned. "Laurel. It means that Sara's killer is still at large."

Nyssa scoffed, as Laurel tried to absorb the new information that kept being thrown at her. "You're a fool who insults the memory of your friend, and your beloved's sister!"

"No. He doesn't!" Laurel fired back, as Oliver took a few slow steps towards Nyssa.

"I will honor Sara's memory by finding and punishing whoever did this. The real person." Nyssa, with a stiff upper lip, nodded rigidly and walked towards the door. "Nyssa." He called after her. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "So long as Malcolm Merlyn is in _my_ city, The League will not make a move on him. He is under my protection."

He could practically feel Laurel glaring at him, but thankfully she bit her tongue. In the corner of his eye, he could see Thea look slightly conflicted. Despite everything Malcolm has done, he was still her blood. And to Speedy, he knew nothing was more important to her than family.

Nyssa turned and sauntered slowly towards him. "You would incur the wrath of The League of Assassins, and that of my father, Ra's Al Ghul?"

Oliver nodded solemnly. Internally praying that he was doing the right thing. "I would do whatever I have to in order to buy the time necessary to uncover what really happened to Sara. She may have been a member of your guild, but she was _our_ family."

Nyssa moved closer to him and lowered her voice. "You have made an enemy this night. One that does not forgive, nor does it forget. The League always has its due." With having said her piece, he watched as she left the apartment.

He then felt Laurel lean against him, it provided him with comfort that she was still by his side, despite them not agreeing on the course of action he had taken.

"Ollie. You sure it wasn't him?"

"You trust me?" He felt her head bob up and down against his arm. "Then you know that I would never have allowed him to escape if I believed he had killed Sara. I promise."

She rubbed his arm affectionately. "I know. I just had to be sure."

* * *

Nyssa opened a large door and entered one of her father's quarters, the one with the pit inside. She knelt before the dais that was built around the pit.

"Father, the rumors were true. Malcolm Merlyn is in Starling City."

The privacy screen obscured her father, as he relaxed in the mystical healing waters. "There is a sadness in your voice." He then stood from the waters, she could hear the water drop from his body and fall back into the healing waters.

"Ta-er al-Sahfer." She resisted her voice from breaking. "She has fallen."

"Sara Lance is dead?" He asked, not sounding surprised nor melancholic. It was as if it were an eventuality that Sara would have been murdered, or killed.

"Yes. Struck through the heart with an arrow." Nyssa forced out, fighting the lump in her throat.

Nyssa could hear her father's servant dressing him in his usual garments, signifying his rank and station. "At Merlyn's hand?" Her father asked, as his servant tied the sword belt to his.

"It appears to be the case." She said, before continuing, her frustration lacing her voice. "I have vowed a blood oath to avenge her."

Ra's calmly took his rings that were resting upon a silk pillow and placed them on his fingers. "Al Saher will face League justice. But for his crimes against our code, and not against Sara Lance."

She looked up at him with anger and confusion. "But Sara?"

"Was never truly one of us." He then walked slowly and deliberately towards her, his gown trailing after him. "What of Queen?"

"He has granted Merlyn sanctuary. He will protect him at all costs."

"If that is true, Oliver Queen courts war with us." Ra's said turning towards her with a grim look on his face.

* * *

Oliver and Laurel were in The Bunker, alone except for their son, who was in his playpen playing with his toys, as his mother and father spared.

Oliver gave her a practice jab before they started. He gave her a playful smirk, "C'mon Pretty Bird, let's see if you still have it?"

Laurel raised her hands in the guarded position. Before throwing several punches, he dodged her punches with ease and returned several hard punches back.

As they traded punches, he looked at her, he could see her determination, the fire that he always loved to see in her green eyes. "You sure that you're okay with Merlyn being under our protection?"

She grunted, as she narrowly missed his head with an uppercut. "Not really. But, as I said before I trust you, Ollie. And if it turns out to be Malcolm in the end, I trust that he will receive justice. If death can't keep him, ARGUS will."

He dodged a high kick by ducking beneath her leg. "I thought you don't trust ARGUS."

"I still don't. But they have the means of keeping in under twenty-four-hour surveillance, and as long as they don't do something stupid like their Suicide Squad. I trust that at the very least Lyla will keep him contained even if they have to put him in an induced coma, or keep him on ice."

"I have to give Malcolm the benefit of the doubt, for Thea's sake." He said after he threw her over his shoulder.

Laurel rolled out of the way, of his sweep kick and jumped back to her feet, hands in front her face in the guarded position. "She holds no love for him."

"Maybe." He granted. "But I don't her living with the weight of the guilt of sending her father to death." It was bad enough that he couldn't stop his father from killing himself.

* * *

Roy woke up in a cold sweat. He had been having recurring nightmares, of killing Laurel's sister. He could see himself throwing the arrows as if they were small javelins and hearing each hitched gasp she gave out as she was skewered by the missiles.

He quietly got out of his bed, careful not to wake Thea up, and left for The Bunker.

As he walked down the stairs, he found Felicity and told him about the nightmares. She brought him over to one of her fancy computers and explained that she scanned her body in order to conduct a virtual autopsy.

"it's not as accurate as a normal autopsy, but considering the circumstances, we couldn't get our hands on a medical examiner. But I can reasonably ascertain the angle of the attack, it's tractor, and force of the arrow."

"I don't understand." He said. Why was she telling him, and not Laurel, or Oliver? Surely, they should be aware of this?

"I couldn't solve all the pieces of the puzzle. Specifically, the angle and velocity of the arrows. We're not consistent with an archer of normal height nor a normal bow." She then hesitated. "But if the arrows were thrown with the force of someone under the influence of Mirakuru… What if there was some residual Mirakuru in your system? It would explain the forensics."

He felt sick. He couldn't have killed Sara. Laurel's sister. He couldn't have hurt Laurel who let him babysit for her child, who kept an eye on him after Nyssa drugged him. "Only you said that I was negative. You said that!"

"No presence of the drug in your system today… or recently but… what if you had an episode where you burned off the remnants of it? And Sara was the final unfortunate victim of Slade Wilson's games?"

He left The Bunker, ignoring Felicity's voice calling him back. He needed air. He ended up finding himself in front of Oliver and Laurel's door to their loft. He gently rasped his fist against the door and waited anxiously in the silent hallway.

Eventually, Oliver unlocked the door and let him in. He saw Laurel at one end of the couch going over a deposition; She turned her head to see who it was that was welcomed int their home.

"Roy? Hey." Her face dropped at his sullen face. "You, ok? Thea?"

He awkwardly held his hands together. "Thea's fine, but Oliver… Laurel..."

Oliver guided him to one of the seats at their table, and Laurel followed soon after. "What's up?" Oliver asked.

"I…" He stuttered. Knowing that he had to confess to the people that were closer to him than his family ever was. He had to explain to two people that he admired the most in the world, that he was a killer that he betrayed their trust and killed Laurel's sister.

He would explain to them that he would gladly take any punishment, be it death, or jail to atone for his crime.

"I have to…" He gulped, calming his nerves. "I need to tell you both something."

Oliver nodded slowly and said; "All right." While Laurel looked at him with sympathy, he knew after he told her the truth, her sympathetic eyes will look at him with scorn and hate. It was what he deserved. He knew that.

"I…" He looked at Laurel and almost lost his nerve. "I killed Sara."

Laurel's face broke, as she tried to absorb the information, that her friend, someone that considered her something like a big sister or a cousin to would kill her family. She swallowed as she struggled to speak.

She hadn't expected on of their own… Surely this had to be some kind of mistake? She was sure that it would have been Lacroix, then Merlyn… "That doesn't— You don't make sense." She looked between Oliver and Roy, trying to find the answer. "Why would you kill my sister?"

"It was the Mirakuru." He then explained to her that he had been having dreams that he relived lately of killing Sara. He explained how Felicity suspected they were suppressed memories."

"What—? This is insane." She stammered, still reeling from her friend's confession. Every time she thought she had a handle on her life, after Sara…Life came and ripped it from her grasp.

Roy went to reach for her hand, to apologize. To show her that he truly felt remorse.

She whisked her hands from him. "Don't!" She warned. She didn't know what to do. If Roy had killed Sara she didn't know how to react, she wished it was someone else. Someone she didn't respect. How could she be in the same room as the man that killed her sister?

Roy flinched backwards as if he had been burned. He nodded sadly and left the loft.

Laurel walked towards the windows, overlooking Starling. Oliver soon followed. "Laurel. If he was under the influence of Mirakuru…"

She turned sharply at him. "What does that even mean?" She hiccupped. "That Roy killed my sister, and it's not his fault?"

"Mirakuru warps people's perception of reality. Slade was a good, noble man before he succumbed to the drug." Oliver explained.

"If a person takes PCP, they are still liable for damages, and for any life they take." She bit her lip, squaring her shoulder. "If he's not responsible, then why is Slade locked up? Isn't he in the same boat?

Oliver sighed. She was on the defensive and was arguing with him, it was one of her coping methods when things were out of her control. Something she picked up from her father.

"The results of the DNA test were inconclusive. He may not have killed her."

She walked back to the window and brushed her hair with her fingers. "I cannot process this right now." Laurel hiccupped "It's too much, Ollie."

He gently tugged her elbow to make her look at him. "Hey, look at me," He said gently, as he waited to see her beautiful green eyes. "Focus on what you can process. We can do this together."

"I can't Ollie. If Roy killed Sara…"

"If he killed Sara, we will deal with it. But right now, I am more worried about you. You are just as important as finding justice for Sara." He said as she leaned into his embrace and buried her head against his chest. "Okay?" He asked before kissing the crown of her head.

"Okay." She repeated while sniffling.

* * *

Oliver was pacing in The Bunker, as he thought about Laurel and Roy. And the hell the two are enduring.

"Any word from Speedy?"

Felicity shook her head as she swiveled on her office chair. "Radio Silent, the last time I check a few minutes ago, Thea's last ping was near Orchid Bay.

Diggle bristled. "Let me go after Roy," he said. "If he is still experiencing side effects, we can't leave him running around."

"So, you bring him in. Then what?" He asked.

"Oliver, this crusade of ours, it's supposed to be about justice, right? So, if that's supposed to mean something, we can't have two sets of rules. One for the bad guys and one for us.

Oliver shrugged his shoulders, looking at his friend. "He is family. Speedy brought him into the fold, and I helped train him."

"Then perhaps, it's time for you or Thea to cut him loose." Diggle answered, "We can't have a team member who goes rogue."

Oliver looked at Diggle with disappointment. Roy was his family, Thea's chosen family. She loved Roy. Diggle, Oliver, and Laurel all had military training, and they never left one of their own behind. Oliver didn't and wouldn't abandon his family.

"Are you seriously telling me to abandon him?" Oliver asked

Diggle nodded, standing to his full height. "I am Oliver. To establish a precedent and to give Sara justice."

"No. Diggle. Speedy will find him, then I, and I alone will teach him how to meditate. Because he didn't kill Sara. It will clear his thoughts and reveal what his mind was suppressing."

Diggle scoffed. "And Laurel is fine with that play?"

"Laurel trusts me," Oliver said, as he started moving the furniture aside, and placed a candle on the ground waiting for Thea to bring Roy home.

* * *

Oliver was lying in bed, with Laurel, kissing and before their lovemaking could advance further, his phone rang. Between their kisses, he told her to ignore it, that the others could handle it for the night.

It wasn't until Laurel's phone started ringing as well, did he pull himself from his fiancée, with a growl that made her giggle into his chest.

"What?" He snapped at the caller.

"Wow, you are in a mood." He heard Felicity say.

"What do you want?"

"There was a weird homicide in Star City…. Was I interrupting — I was interrupting you and Laurel…"

"Felicity." She said her name forcefully. "Homicide?"

"Right." She said. "A man was murdered with a razor-sharp boomerang. "After some tests, I found that it had a large amount of iron oxide. The only place in this country with a large amount of the stuff is Central City. I can get everything ready for you, me and John?"

Oliver sighed as Laurel stood up and whispered that she would make them a cup of coffee. He smiled at her as she padded out of the door. "I think I may just take Laurel. Thea has been begging for a night with Connor, so you, Digg, and Roy could hold down the fort, or relax for a day or two while we check it out."

"Oh…" She said stunned. "I thought that since Laurel retired…"

He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "She hasn't retired she went on maternity leave. She needs to get back on the horse, and what better way than in another city, besides she has friends in Central City." He then hung up his phone and walked out to see Laurel pouring the hot coffee into his mug.

This would be the opportunity for Laurel to speak to Grant. Hopefully, the man could help Laurel in a way that he could not. Even if he didn't like the man, Laurel respected him. Grant had help Laurel through grief and hatred before, hopefully, he can do it again.

"Where's Green Arrow heading to tonight?" She asked as she sat down at the dinner table, sipping her coffee.

"Not just Green Arrow, I was hoping Black Canary would come out to play for a couple of nights in Central City."

Laurel stopped drinking her beverage and put the mug down. "Ollie...I haven't…."

He smiled as he walked around the table and held her in his arms. "It has been a while, but you never lost your fight in you. You train every other day and have been sparring with me, and occasionally Thea, Roy, and Digg. You can hold your own."

"It's been a long time since I have been in Central City." She muttered.

"The other reason I want to bring you is that your cry is an asset. Central City has changed since you trained there with Grant. It's not just average criminals' prey on the city. But so, do enhanced individuals.

"You want to fight fire with fire?" She asked with a quirk of her brow.

"If it comes to that."

Laurel nodded against his shoulder. She felt a mixture of nerves and fear roll around in her stomach at the thought of going back out as Black Canary, leaving Connor. Anytime either of them left the Bunker in their suits, there was an ever-present possibility of not coming home to see Connie.

"You gonna call Speedy? Or am I?" She asked.

* * *

Joe West and a team of SWAT officers were casing the storage building. He turned around to see the landlord.

"He always paid in cash, never seemed like trouble."

Joe signaled for a couple of men to take him outside and away from any potential firefight. He then took his men with their guns drawn and saw Bivelo trying to sneak away.

"Freeze! Don't move!" Joe commanded the criminal.

Bivelo seemed unintimidated and removed his red-tinted glasses. "Is there a problem, gentlemen?"

After Joe commanded the man to turn around, his eye glowed red. "What are you waiting for Certo? cuff him."

Officer Certo turned on his heel and aimed his shotgun at West and the rest of the SWAT team. "No. I make my own decisions now. He then cocked his gun as his eyes, like Bivelo before he glowed a blood red.

Joe ducked, as he commanded his men to do the same. He then unloaded a round at Joe, within a flash, The Flash had moved all the officers out of the range of the shotgun pellets, and tackled his adoptive father to the ground.

The brainwashed officer cocked his gun, as a bola arrow wrapped itself around his body, followed by a loud screech.

_SCREEEEEEEE!_

The Flash and Joe looked over their shoulders to see the Green Arrow and Black Canary, standing in the shadows. The archer smirked at The Flash, Nice mask." He then fired a grapple arrow, wrapped his arm around Black Canary's waist and disappeared through the manhole in the roof.

* * *

**A/N- So next chapter we will be heading to Central City. And Laurel gets to speak to her mentor, the man that helped her into the strong heroine she is in this fic. **


	6. Brave & The Bold Part 1

As Oliver raced down the streets, on his motorcycle, with Laurel wrapping her arms around him. As they made it to their temporary base, Barry was already waiting for them with a bag of Big Belly Burger.

Barry placed their meals on the old carpenter's desk that he had just dusted in a blink of an eye. "I gave you guys something like a half-hour head start."

"We don't exactly have super speed, do we?" Laurel asked, as she removed her black helmet and sat it next to her duffle bag in the room's corner.

Barry snapped his fingers as something clicked in his mind. "Oh, by the way. I appreciate you two helping me out back there but I had that."

Oliver chuckled lightly, while Laurel sported an amused smile. "Uh-huh."

"I was getting ready to make my move," Barry said defending himself.

"What move? The one to the morgue?" Oliver teased lightly, as he took a sip from his soda cup.

Barry grabbed a handful of fries and shoveled them down his mouth. "So, what made Starling's power couple come to Central City?"

"What else?" Laurel rhetorically asked. "Work."

Oliver walked over to one of their bags and pulled out a clear zip-lock bag with a steel boomerang inside. "A rather unique homicide occurred back home, a boomerang in someone's back."

Barry took the boomerang out to look at it closer. "Cool." He said as he started to study the weapon.

Laurel and Oliver smiled at each other. The way Barry looked intensively and curiously at the weapon, was the same way Connor stares and intently studies their house keys, or any other shiny or noisy objects he can get his little hands on.

Barry then looked at Oliver and quickly sobered. "I mean, awful."

Oliver nodded. Laurel could tell that he was struggling to keep his merriment inside and his colder exterior out. "Felicity found that it had iron oxide on it. Which lead us here to Central City."

Oliver rolled his eyes, as Barry went on a small tangent about Australian Aboriginals using boomerangs to hunt primarily kangaroo.

Laurel cleared her throat to get the younger man to focus. "We were chasing down a lead when we heard the SWAT raid over the radio." She then took a sip of the cola in front of her. "You may want to tell Detective Chyre to scramble the CCPD's frequency.

Barry stuttered, looking slightly awkward. "I can't… Chyre was killed a few months ago. But I will be sure to tell Joe, it would save lives."

Oliver turned the conversation back to how they came to help him. "I said to Laurel, that we would drop by, and watch you make your move."

Barry sniggered at Oliver's teasing. "That's a low blow man." He then took a bite of his burger and watched Oliver do the same. He then explained how he and his team are currently dealing with a meta-human that makes people angry.

"Metahuman?" Laurel asked. "You're not calling people with powers, enhanced individuals?" She asked, putting a couple of fries in her mouth.

Barry shrugged. "I suppose it comes down to semantics." He then looked at her suit. "Judging by the design, Cisco created your suit? He did mention at one point that he met a meta-human before they became popular. He called you said the person, you were the O.G. meta-human."

Laurel's cheeks heat up and redden, as dipped her head, a shy smile tugging at her lips. "He did, he designed and created this suit, and the other one before the suit was damaged."

Barry's eyes bulged in surprise. "Damaged? How?"

"I shot her with an arrow, the shock, and the force, and the shock pushed her off a rooftop, and then I tore her wig off, before leaving her to die," Oliver said as his jaw tightened in his regret and self-loathing.

Laurel rubbed his shoulder. "Water under the bridge, Ollie. Speedy called Caitlin. I'm alive, that's all that matters."

"Wait," Barry said raising his hands. "You know Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow?"

Laurel nodded, as she brushed some crumbs and salt from her fingers, "Met them just over four years ago. Why? You know them?"

Barry smiled. "Yep. They're both work on Team Flash." He then looked at the engaged couple in front of him. "We should team-up. I help you find your Aussie Convict, and you help me find the rageaholic.

"I don't think so. We will do what we need to do and go back home." He said looking at Laurel for confirmation since they were partners.

"How about this? We continue searching for our Boomerang Killer, and we keep our ear to the ground about your rage-inducing enhanced individual."

Barry nodded, enthusiastically, and took the boomerang. "I will have STAR Labs work on this." He then sped off, leaving a yellow lightning trail after him.

Once Barry left, Laurel leaned against Oliver. "You trust Barry. You can also trust Caitlin, and judging from my experience with Cisco, you can trust him as well. The pair of them haven't betrayed mine, nor Thea's trust since we have known them."

"And yet, you haven't even told this Cisco who makes your suits your real identity?"

Laurel bit her lip. "An opportunity never really presented itself. Look, give them a chance, I know that you have had bad experiences trusting others, and that is putting it lightly, but Ollie, we can't trust people in our line of work."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Barry arrived back at STAR Labs to see Caitlin and Cisco walking together into The Cortex.

He handed Cisco the boomerang. "A mutual acquaintance of the three of ours gave STAR Labs, this to study for her and her partner's case."

Both Caitlin's and Cisco's faces lit up. Cisco grabbed the boomerang as if it were a Christmas or a birthday present. "Canary gave us this? Her first case back and she comes returns to her roots? Did you know she used to operate here in Central City?"

"I knew a Wildcat did," Barry said, remembering Joe being annoyed at someone interferes in his investigations.

Cisco studied the weapon in his hand. "Do we know what the wings are made of?" Barry shrugged, as his friend marched into his workshop to analyze the projectile weapon.

As Barry walked towards Caitlin, she spoke first, beating him to the punch. "You know the Black Canary?"

Barry gave a small nod of his head. "Laurel."

Caitlin smiled, relieved. "How was she? I heard that she went on maternity leave from vigilantism. Was her baby there? I assume you spoke to them when they were out of their suits?"

"No. Just her and The Green Arrow. Do you know why they almost killed each other, two years ago?"

Caitlin shrugged slightly, "She has never been an open book, I mean she wears her heart on her sleeve, but no, I know that Laurel has been shot with Arrows before, I just assumed it was The Dark Archer. It was likely a misunderstanding between her and The Green Arrow."

"She and her partner are keeping their ears to the ground, about our meta. Do we have anything on our end?"

Caitlin explained that the SWAT officer informed the police that he saw a flash of red before he lost control. She then told him her theory regarding the meta inducing rage through the ocular nerve. "Oh, by the way, Dr Wells wants to see you."

Barry walked into a small room that had both Joe and Dr. Wells waiting for him as if they were about to give him an intervention.

"Why do I feel like I was ordered to the principal's office?" Barry asked warily as he eyed his foster father and Doctor Wells.

Joe rubbed his hands together. "The Vigilantes Starling City."

Barry looked between his adoptive father and his mentor. "They call him the Green Arrow, and she is the Black Canary."

Joe scoffed. "Oh, do they, Flash?" The look he gave Barry reminded him of the time that he had followed Iris out of the house after curfew.

Barry looked at his father in confusion. What was their issue with Oliver and Laurel? They saved Starling twice each. It was a heroic thing, shouldn't he as a rookie hero look up to them? Learn from them?

"What's the problem? I don't understand?"

"We don't trust them," Wells said calmly.

"You guys don't even know them."

"Black Canary, formally known as The Canary of Starling City, before that she was The Woman in Black; who along with her mentor, committed a number of crimes here in Central City, almost eight years ago," Joe said as if he were reading a rap-sheet. "I also know that she was suspected of terrorism four years ago, and the Green Arrow was wanted for murder in at least twelve different cases dating back three years. I'm not even counting the other charges like assault, B & E's." Joe then scratched his beard, "The Green Arrow is without a doubt a murderer and a thief."

"And there have been at least two major terrorist attacks and one full-scale Gang War since they became active." Doctor Wells added. "Who knows what other kinds of issues Starling will suffer due to these so-called heroes of yours in the coming year, or years."

Barry folded his arms, quirking his brow. "She was found innocent for the terrorist attack, and the cops have dropped the charges on the Green Arrow, they're cool with him."

"And all those people they assaulted or killed? They don't count?" Joe asked, looking disappointed in him.

"They are heroes, Joe," Barry said resolutely. He would defend his friends, just as he knew that they would do the same for him.

Wells shook his head, in disagreement. "No. _You_ are a hero, Barry. You offer protection, hope, light. What those two do is carry out a dark reckoning to the people in their city. They subscribe to a brutal, violent vision of justice, one we do not share." He said waving his hand between himself and Joe. "If you think they are heroes, so be it, but they are not the people you should admire."

Joe looked at Barry with the look that he used to give him and Iris when they had to do something that he knew that they didn't want to do. "I want the Green Arrow, and Black Canary out of my city, tonight."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Green Arrow and Black Canary walked stalked the shadows together, as they advanced upon the landlord of the storage building's office.

"You miss this?" She asked, keeping her voice low, as they snuck down the hallway.

"I do." He whispered, "I miss working beside you, Pretty Bird." He then kicked down the door to the office room and aimed his bow at the man, while Black Canary brandished her baton.

"The man who rents the stage unit 103. We want his name." Black Canary growled.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

The next morning at Jitters, Oliver and Laurel were sitting at a table, waiting for hot their coffee. Oliver looked at Laurel, who took out her phone to check on things back home. "You know, I can finish the case, and you can go back home to Connie. I won't be offended."

He felt Laurel tossing and turning in an attempt to sleep in the few hours they had last night. At first, he thought it was her roughing the uncomfortable conditions in the drafty abandoned building they were hauled up in until he realized that it was the first time that she had been away from their son for an extended period of time. He also suspected it was due to Sara's killer still being on the loose, and him protecting Malcolm. A melting pot of emotions keeping her from having a deep sleep.

She shook her head. "No, I made a promise to help you. And Thea told me that if I called, or texted her again, she would jump through the phone and hit me over the head with it."

Oliver was about to tell her that he would be fine going solo if it gave her a peace of mind knowing that their son was safe and happy. Just then, Barry walked in and made a B-Line for them, making Oliver put what he was going to say on the back-burner.

"Hey," Barry said warmly.

"Your guy that you are hunting, the guy that robbed your bank. Roy G. Bivelo."

"Uh...Thanks." He said. "How did you find him?" Oliver didn't answer as he looked away. Barry's face dropped. "The guy is still alive, right?" At the look Oliver gave him, he clarified. "I was just confirming — I thought you didn't want to help."

"It was pointed out to me last night." He said looking at Laurel before looking at Barry again. "That having friends with remarkable talents would be of help down the road. And you helped me with the hallucination last year…" Oliver trailed off. " Friends help one another."

Barry put out his hand and shook Oliver's. "Partners?"

Oliver looked at Laurel, who nodded. "Partners."

After Barry had shaken his hand, then Laurel's hand, and looked between them. "So, we going to hunt this meta-human?"

Oliver scowled slightly. "We are not calling them that." Oliver hated the thought of Laurel, or even Connor being labeled as something other than human. Laurel had voiced her discontent with the label, stating that it was a slippery slope from being called meta-human to not being recognized as a member of the human race.

Oliver agreed, from his experiences during his five years in hell, and his three years since being back, he knew that people like Waller or Ivo would willingly experiment on enhanced individuals if given the opportunity. It was better for all, if everyone just considered them humans, with enhanced capabilities.

A young African American woman, their waitress walked up to the three of them, gave Barry a familiar playful nudge, and handed the two cups of coffee to the pair sitting. Oliver gave his fiancée a knowing look at the way Barry smiled awkwardly and blushed slightly at the young woman's appearance. It was quite evident to anyone that saw them that Barry held this woman close to his heart.

The young waitress was giving Oliver a flirtatious smile and unapologetically admiring his strong physique. She handed Laurel her coffee with milk and handed Oliver his black coffee.

She leaned on the table slightly looking at Oliver. Laurel noticed he seemed to look awkward, a fish out of water, as the young woman swooned over him. Laurel had to hold her mug close to her lips to prevent herself from smirking at the love of her life being uncomfortable. It was a far cry from how he was almost eight years ago.

"I brewed a fresh pot, so…" Iris trailed off wistfully, not taking her eyes off Oliver.

Oliver smiled pleasantly at the young woman and gave Laurel a look as if to say he knew that she was enjoying him being in the hot seat. "Thank you." He said politely and took a sip of the hot beverage.

"Yeah." She said longingly, not breaking eye contact with him. She then turned to Barry. "Barry, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah." The pair walked off towards the line where people were ordering their drinks.

Oliver watched them leave, and once they were out of earshot, he couldn't help but grin at the look Laurel gave him, one full of mirth and amusement.

"What?" He asked, innocently.

"Nothing." She mused. "Just watching the love of my life looking like a fish out of water. It reminds me of how much you have changed, Ollie."

"Jealous?" He asked, lightly, enjoying seeing Laurel look lighter than she had since Sara's death. It seemed like his idea for her get out of the city, to get out of Starling for a few days was already doing. her some good. Hopefully, her time with Grant will also prove to be just as fruitful. She certainly needed this change of pace, even if it's just an oasis before something inevitably goes wrong again.

Laurel scoffed and rolled her eyes slightly. "Of what? We have a family, a happy, healthy son, and are in a committed monogamous relationship, with a wedding in a year or so, down the line."

On the other side of the store, Iris playfully slapped Barry's arm, much to his chagrin. "You didn't tell me that you knew Oliver Queen?"

Barry sighed. "I know Oliver Queen." Wishing he didn't have to listen to Iris parading her crushes and relationships in his face.

Iris was acting so chipper and throwing longing glances at the former playboy. "He's even more handsome in person. And his arms, Barry. They are like twice the size of yours." She said motioning with her hands.

Barry scowled slightly. "Technically, they are not twice the size." It was a feeble defense, but it was all he could come up with on the fly.

Iris brushed her hair behind her shoulder. "He's on my three list." She revealed, still sounding sickeningly giddy about seeing Oliver.

Barry shrugged. "What's a three list?"

"My list of three guys that I'm allowed to cheat on Eddie with." She then sighed wistfully. "You rarely get to meet the people on your list… But now he is, and I can't stop staring at him."

Barry sighed, as he pointed at the blonde woman that was talking quietly with the man in question. "See her?" He asked, and Iris nodded. "That's Laurel Lance, his fiancée, and mother of his son. I don't think she would appreciate you sleeping with or fawning all over her fiancé."

Iris nodded slowly. "When was he taken off the market? There wasn't anything on the news?"

Barry shrugged. "I don't know, but it was before I went to Starling last year. Since the first terror attack in Starling, and Moira Queen's trial and subsequent murder, the Queen family have been out of the limelight of the media."

Barry and Iris watched as Laurel leaned over to kiss her betrothed and stand up to leave the café without Oliver in tow. Barry suspected that she was going to run a few leads, as an attorney, instead of her vigilante persona.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

A half-hour later, Barry had talked with Iris, letting Oliver leave before catching up with him at the abandoned word carpenter's workshop. He saw Oliver standing by himself overlooking the overgrown yard that had puddles from the rain the night before.

'Hey." Barry said, as he walked towards the man that he admired.

Oliver remained stoic, his hands by his sides. "You're late." Oliver said curtly. "How can you be late when you have super speed?"

"The natural tardiness negates many of the perks, unfortunately." He then stood next the older, and more experienced hero looking at the overgrown vista, that provided a stark contrast to the rest of the pristine city. "How exactly are we going to catch Bivelo at your temporary headquarters that you are currently squatting at?"

He then looked behind them and into their small temporary living quarters. A couple of sleeping bags rolled up next to three or four duffle bags and an LED lantern with paperwork on the carpenter's workbench.

"We aren't. We have something just as important to do. We are here to train."

"Like Rocky?" Barry asked in an amused tone of voice.

Oliver gave him a side glance. "I'm sure if you want to box, I'm Laurel can handle that later."

Barry recalled studying the impossible cases before he had first ventured into Starling to hunt for The Hood, or rather Green Arrow, Speedy, and Arsenal. The Emerald Archer and his Ruby Archers. He recalled scouring the blogs and news articles about The Woman in Black, later known as the Black Canary. It wasn't until he heard about her banshee wail that he had tried to find videos of her. Very few recordings actually showed her scream. What he noticed, however, was that she was trained in urban combat and reconnaissance, which contrasted to Oliver who primarily trained in a jungle environment.

Laurel also trained in boxing and other forms of fighting; like Savete and Krav Maga. Though that is only if the blogs and theories could be trusted. He also wouldn't be surprised if Barry found out that Cisco was a moderator in one of the various chatrooms about Starling's vigilantes.

"Speaking of, where is she?" Barry asked as he took a cursory glance around the area.

"Visiting a friend," Oliver answered cryptically. Barry suspected that since she was Black Canary, and Joe had revealed that she had worked with a Wildcat. Barry suspected that it was him she was visiting.

Wildcat, or the Man in Black and Blue, was a vigilante that didn't really hit the news when he was active years ago. The man just disappeared and was long thought to be dead by the CCPD and the bloggers that discussed the urban legends.

Oliver then looked back at Barry. "I saw your friend Iris's blog on The Flash. Laurel and I visited all the crime scenes you had fought at."

That shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did. He should have known that Oliver would have taken it upon himself to scour all the places he had fought.

"It has come to my attention recently, that we as vigilantes, as heroes. We should learn from our mistakes; we have already lost one of our own. If you really want to be a guardian angel over your city, I need to ensure that you have the necessary skills."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but don't you and Laurel sleep? That must have taken all night?"

Oliver raised his brow. "Barry, I have an infant son, Laurel, and I already get little sleep to no sleep." He then shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "Almost three and half weeks ago, you fought, a man named Leonard Snart."

"We call him Captain Cold," he said, slightly proud of the name they had given their foe.

Unfortunately, Oliver remained unamused. "We can discuss giving your enemy's silly code names further down the line."

"Perhaps we should discuss names like; The Count, The Ninja-Archer and Deathstroke?"

"Every one of those names was given to them when they had no known identities, or they were nicknames the SCPD or ARGUS had given them." He explained. "No, the point is you engaged Snart on a train which was then derailed."

Barry defended himself citing that while he fought, there may have been some property damage, but it was all in the name of saving people, and he managed to just that. Save all those who were at risk.

"Do you case every environment you happen upon, during an emergency like that?" Upon Barry's silence, Oliver continued. "You could you have the speed and the time. But you don't and that Barry is your hubris."

Barry followed Oliver as he walked out of the shelter and towards the wet grounds. "There is a difference Barry between having powers and precision. "He then stopped to look at Barry. "There is a reason that Laurel primarily uses her martial prowess over her powers. You rely on them, and you get dependent on it. You lose your edge in other areas."

Barry watched as Oliver moved towards his motorcycle, and unclipped his bow from the handlebars, leaving only a black metal nightstick. "Living this life, it takes more than a mask. It takes discipline." He said as he nocked an arrow into the weapon. "And since you chose this life, a life of stubborn and dangerous people…

Barry flinched, taking a step back, as he stammered. "Why are you holding a loaded bow?"

Oliver gestured his head towards the far side of the yard. "You're going to run over there, you're gonna race towards me. And you are going to get hit with an arrow."

Barry chuckled, knowing how unlikely that would be the case. He was a lot faster than any arrow, or for that matter bullet could ever be. "No, I'm not."

Oliver chortled back. "Yes, you are." His face then became void of all the humor it had a few seconds ago.

Barry shrugged, nonchalantly. "Sure, I will humor you." He then sped away to the other end of the yard, shouting if Oliver was ready.

Oliver drew his bow and took aim as he jerked his head in agreement. He then released the arrow that Barry had swiftly caught, with his super-speed and gave Oliver a cocky grin. "Nice try, Ollie." Just then, two hidden crossbows shot two arrows into Barry's back.

Barry howled in pain, as he tried in vain to see what had punctured his back. "You shot me?" He asked in a mixture of shock and pain.

Oliver walked behind him and pulled the arrows that had barely penetrated into his back. "I heard you heal fast. Another boon for you, I'm sure."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Laurel walked into the ratty of a gym that always felt like a home away from home. She walked in to see Ted watching a young woman boxing against a young man. She stood beside Ted as he shouted out advice to either side.

"Been waiting for you." He whispered to her, not looking away from the fight.

"it's been a long few month's Ted. I don't really want to talk about it." Even if it was one of the primary reasons, she was here in Central City was to speak to Ted, she found that she didn't possess the courage to reopen her wounds.

Ted nodded slightly. "Fine by me," he replied, as he continued to coach at the fighters. Ted looked towards the young man. "Drake, keep your hands up, or Steph will ring your head in like a bell." He then looked at the young girl that couldn't be much older than twenty. "Stephanie. Use your hips, it's where the power comes from."

He then looked at Laurel, out of the corner of his eye. "Stephanie Brown, and Timothy Drake. They have the largest dick measuring contest, I have ever seen." He said attempting to lighten the sullen mood.

"They your new generation of vigilantes?" Laurel asked, making small talk, while she and Ted watching the girl duck under her sparring partners' attack, and delivering one of her own to his stomach.

"Nah, I only did that for you, Dinah."

"But Speedy..."

"You brought her in, you trained her. I just was her examiner. had nothing to do with me."

When Laurel didn't speak for a few minutes, and silence reigned between the two, until she finally spoke, and saw the mild amusement die down in his ice-blue eyes. "Three. minutes." She whispered almost inaudibly. "That's how long it took for me and Connie to leave Sara on that rooftop before she tumbled down in front of us. She was skewered by arrows, Ted."

Ted said nothing, as he simply listened, no commentaries, no apologies. They both knew that they were there for one another. "One-hundred and eighty seconds, Ted. If we stayed up there another couple of minutes, I could have lost both my sister and my baby."

"You could have died too, Dinah. Your life is just as important as Connor, and everyone else." Ted looked at her completely, temporarily forgetting the two fighters in the ring. "You may have lost Sara, Dinah. But you still have your baby, you have Cas — You still have Oliver and Thea. Me. You still have a family." He then let her digest his words in silence for a few minutes.

Ted was right she still had family, and friends despite those she had lost along the way. People that have left her. "Why does it feel like everyone leaves me, eventually? My mother she… She climbed into her car and drove away and only appeared when Sara had returned. Jo, Tommy — Ted, this past year is supposed to be the happiest time in my life, and yet people still are ripped from me. Moira and my father have been ripped away from me. And now Sara…" She added fighting through her contracted throat, knowing she had to let it out. "Ted, what is so wrong with me that everyone leaves?"

"Dinah." He said getting her attention, as he dragged two plastic chairs for them to sit on. "You have a fiancée, that is devoted to you, a beautiful boy that I consider a grandson. You have a surrogate sister that thinks the world of you, and would never hurt you. And You have me, Dinah. The world isn't out to get you, no matter how much it feels that way." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "You just have been unlucky and drew the wrong hand from the deck. Focus on the things that you have, that you can change rather than those that you have lost. Or it will destroy you."

Laurel played with her engagement ring on her finger. Her friend and mentor consoled her and gave Laurel advice. "Remember what I taught you all those years ago? When you felt like the world is crumbling around you?" He waited, a beat before answering for her. "It's not about how you get knocked down to the mat. It's about whether you get back up. Are you gonna get up or not, Dinah?"

"That's what I'm trying to do." She said softly, thinking about how Oliver had suggested she visit Ted for a talk and to vent to someone who isn't too involved in what has been happening. "But why do I feel the rage, and anger in my heart... and in my soul... clawing to be let out? I'm worried that I will do something stupid, or hurt Connor, Thea or Ollie…" She was worried that she would explode and hurt those around her, or someone or something would rip those she loves away from her and she will just fall off into the deep end. She didn't know if she could come out of that darkness if she was to be consumed by it.

"It's good that you are worried about the consequences of your actions. It shows me that despite your rage, you still have a gentle heart." He then looked back at the two young adults and told them to take a break before he returned his attention back at Laurel. "But Dinah, you can't let that rage control you. You need to harness it. Focus on your family. Focus on Oliver, on Connor and Thea. Let them shoulder the burden for you, and there is no shame in letting people go, letting your fallen friends and family go. Letting Sara and your father rest. Protect and look after your family. One step at a time."

He then looked at her with a concerned look. "I hope that you find some semblance of peace as well, Dinah."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Laurel had caught a cab from Wildcat's gym to STAR Labs, where she found Caitlin talking about something regarding color affecting moods. She wasn't sure how accurate the theory was, but she simply smiled at her friend.

Laurel's hand trembled as she handed Caitlin a thumb drive that contained the DNA of her sister's killer. "I was hoping that you find something we couldn't with the sample."

"Sure," Caitlin nodded. "What do you want me to find, and what's the sample from?"

Her breath hitched as she spoke. "My sister's murder."

Caitlin sprung up from her seat and embraced her friend muttering her apologies, and condolences, before asking, "How is Baby Connor?"

Laurel smiled thankfully for the distraction. She pulled a photograph of Connor sitting against an abnormally large stuffed crocodile that Thea had bought for him. Laurel smiled as she remembered Thea had said that no niece or nephew of hers would be without awesome toys.

Caitlin cooed at the picture of her friend's baby. "He's so cute."

While they were discussing her son, Wells rolled down the adjacent hall and called out to her. "Miss Lance, I would appreciate a moment of your time. Please."

Laurel quirked her brow at Caitlin, as he continued to roll further down the hallway. "Wonder what he wants?" Caitlin shrugged, and continued her work, as Laurel tracked down the professor.

She found him further down the hallway; he had deliberately slowed his advance for her to catch up. "What's on your mind, Professor?"

Wells' lips slightly upturned, it was almost imperceptible but Laurel noticed it. "Do you prefer Dinah or Laurel?"

"Whatever makes it easier for you." She said with a small shrug, crossing her arms.

"Dinah, I prefer to surround my team with known quantities, a trait I'm sure you can relate to as an attorney. I rather find the unknown to be rather dangerous and toxic to the work environment. The Green Arrow and Black Canary are unknowns."

Laurel exhaled before she spoke, "As someone that has worked beside these two heroes, for several years you have nothing to fear as long as you are on the right side of the law. You are aren't you, Doctor Wells?" She asked cocking her head to the side.

Doctor Wells gave an amused smirk, "I'm sure that in this case. And yes, I am on the right side of the law for future reference. And yet, I find myself with a conundrum." He said, why gesturing with his hands. "How can an individual, such as myself trust a man… or a woman, for that matter, if I cannot know their name?" He asked. "So, I was hoping, Miss Lance, that you could help me trust these masked individuals. Who are they behind the masks, and under the hood?" He asked, before adding. "I have only witnessed Black Canary once, and that was in your hometown."

"Well, for starters, I'm sure you can appreciate the position I am in, if someone you just met were to ask about Barry's secret, you would err on the side of caution, and not divulge any secrets your masked friend may have." She said, that caused Well's to nod in amusement. "And as to trust, you can look at their M.O. and their history. It's how the legal system works, I can't see how their M.O. can't help you build some trust, or have a peace of mind on these vigilantes."

Wells smirked. "Fair enough. Both Caitlin and Cisco had refused to divulge The Canary of Starling City's identity as well. I suppose I will have to figure it out myself then." He said before he wheeled down one of the connecting hallways.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

That night, Oliver held Laurel in his arms as they lay in their sleeping bag. Oliver had noticed that Laurel seemed a little less weighed down after talking to Grant but seemed lost in thought after her visit to STAR Labs.

"You seem distracted." He whispered close to her ear.

"Something feels off about Wells." She revealed, he had felt the same.

Oliver wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "What about Grant?"

She giggled slightly. "Ted. He's fine, he has given me stuff to think about, what priorities I should have and advice regarding those that I have lost."

"And?" He prodded slightly.

She turned around and smiled. "That there is nothing wrong with letting the ghosts of the loved ones that were taken from us, rest. Find peace. And for us who are still living to focus on what matters, our family."

He leaned over and kissed her lightly. "I'm glad that your visit was fruitful." Perhaps he should send Grant a gift a bottle of scotch or something for helping Laurel? He may have to ask Thea if he would take that as a slight. He had known the man for almost two years, and he still could never get a read on the man, other than he loved Laurel as if she were his daughter, perhaps, that was enough.

Laurel adjusted herself, then used his chest as a pillow, "How about you? I know that you have been too worried about me to feel your grief? Sara was your friend too, Ollie."

Oliver hesitated. "She's family. And I miss her… I'm also concerned that what we might have too — What I will have to do when The League comes knocking. I'm worried that I will lose too much of myself to the point that You, Speedy and Connor won't recognize me."

She turned around, the dim light from the moon illuminated her face. "I think you are far more resilient than you give yourself credit for. And nothing will stop me, Thea or Connor, from loving you." She then gave him another kiss. "Pretty Bird, you didn't stop caring for me when I came home and was in a dark space. I will never hate you. It's physically impossible."

Oliver rubbed his hand down her arm reassuringly, before Laurel changed the subject, "How was your training regimen with Barry?" She asked with a teasing voice.

"He let Bivelo getaway," he sighed. "He didn't listen." To her ears, it sounded like he was blaming himself more than his newest pupil. It was always like him to carry everyone's burdens as his own.

Laurel sighed, perhaps this was the wrong topic of choice, "How about we both talk to him?" She hummed. "He might listen to me, about not using my enhanced biology as a crutch?"

Oliver nodded as he kissed the top of her head. "It may mean more coming from a person with a similar experience."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Barry appeared at the workshop to see Oliver and Laurel waiting for him, gazing out towards the early morning vista of their temporary yard.

"Ganging up on me, and thinking of new ways to embarrass me?" He asked accusingly, looking between the couple in front of him.

"Not trying to embarrass you Barry," Laurel said gently to assure him. "I heard that you went after Bivelo last night alone after I had left STAR Labs? Then while you were in pursuit, he slipped away."

Barry scoffed. "And neither of you two have ever made a misstep? The legendary infallible Green Arrow and Black Canary." He said mockingly.

"Of course, we have had missteps," Oliver said, as both Laurel, and he silently lamented on their previous mistakes.

Laurel sighed, as she slowly walked towards him as if he was a frightened deer. "Barry, we have been living this life for close to eight years. I have survived those years, and not because of my canary cry had saved me from death, it was because I… We" She said gesturing to her partner. "We realized that we needed to continue learning and adapting to the environment and scenarios we find ourselves in."

Oliver then finished for her. "And until you grasp that truth, despite your best intentions, you will do more harm than good."

Barry shook his head indignantly. "I see what it is now. You're jealous of me, huh?" He said pointing at Oliver. "A guy like you, handsome, rich, a father, a beautiful loving fiancée…" His words slowly dripping with condescension. "Jealousy must be an emotion that you haven't acclimatized to. So, you may find it difficult to understand your emotions."

Laurel watched Oliver tense slightly, from his frustration with the younger man, though he put on a cool façade. "That's your theory?"

Barry replied instantaneously. "Absolutely. You see, unlike me, Laurel and likely your son, you can only lift weights, climb that stupid ladder of yours until your heart explodes. But you will never have powers as we have, you will never be as fast as I am. You will never be what we are!"

Barry continued haughtily, while Laurel watched as Barry moved in closer towards Oliver, her fiancé, remained cool and calm compared to Barry's out of character rage and cockiness. "That," He said pointing at Oliver, "That has to hurt your rock-hard pride, _Ollie_, that you are the unremarkable one out of your little immediate family."

As he walked past Oliver, Laurel snatched Barry's arm. Before Barry could respond, Oliver requested that she let him go. She reluctantly did as she was asked, and let him sped off.

Oliver turned to look at his best friend and partner. "Something is wrong. He's acting out of character. He's under the influence of Bivelo's power. I'll call STAR Labs; you get our work clothes ready."

Before Laurel moved to their bags, she wrapped her arms around him. "You're not unremarkable, Ollie. It takes a good heart, and inner strength to endure what you had to and come out sane, and still a good person." She whispered, before pulling back with a slight wry smirk. "Besides, you're hardly the only one in our family without powers. You are in good company with Speedy."

Oliver's eyes twinkled at her little speech. "I love you, Pretty Bird," he said before giving Laurel a searing kiss.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

After Caitlin hung up on Oliver, she looked at Wells, Detective West, and Cisco. "That was the Green Arrow, he says that he and Black Canary noticed that Barry was acting strange."

Joe nodded frantically. He explained how he had never seen his foster son looking so angry and full of rage. "It was scary. And his eyes were glowing red."

Wells gave the team a knowing smirk. "Luckily we know a pair of remarkable individuals who can stop Barry." He looked at Caitlin. "I think you should call back Oliver Queen and Dinah Laurel Lance. We will need Starling's Finest to help."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Green Arrow sped down the roads of Central City and let Black Canary jump off before speeding down an ally way.

Black Canary unclipped her baton and walked slowly towards where The Flash had a young detective pinned down, with Iris pleading for the speedster to have mercy. She noted his eyes, went bright red before he lunged for the detective.

Laurel took a deep breath in and used her Canary Cry, sending the Man in Red flying towards the alley where her partner waited.

Black Canary looked towards Iris and the detective. "Run! We will handle this." Black Canary then ensured that the two were at a safe distance before walking towards were Oliver had just purposely aimed behind his artificially enraged friend.

"You missed." The Flash cockily replied.

The Green Arrow shook his head. "No, I didn't." he then promptly shot him with a tranquilizer arrow. A special arrow that he had made when he had first heard about speedsters. It made Laurel wonder what Oliver had made in the unwanted event she went rogue. Surely, he would have concocted a plan? It would be the smart thing to do, even if he had no intention or desire to use it against her.

Laurel continued her job of ensuring that the enraged speedster harmed no one, and to prevent him from doing something dangerous until Wells and Joe West had arrived with their payload. All she had to do was wait for Ollie's signal.

The Flash phased the drug out of his system and started speeding around Green Arrow, that created something like a bright yellow vortex around him. She watched as Oliver attempted to keep him busy, and focused on him, as he 'attempted to escape.' Barry sped up the side of the building to remove the lodged arrow.

Oliver landed gracefully after he had shot another arrow to slow his descent. Barry then spun around Oliver at high speeds. Because of the insane speeds, Barry could run at, it looked like Oliver was doing some weird kind of contemporary dance without music.

Oliver managed to get one lucky hit, in which temporarily stunned The Flash, but made him rage further, and proceed to hit his friend and mentor at rapid speeds. Before finally sending The Emerald Archer to the ground.

Oliver clicked a button sending darts that were shot towards Barry. He deftly caught them. "Fool me once, Ollie."

It was now her turn, again. Black Canary used her cry to send Barry stumbling to the ground, and Oliver quickly stood up, and held him in a chokehold, as the STAR Labs van pulled up, and used its colored lights to send some form of subliminal messaging to wipe the rage-induced from Bivelo from Barry's system.

Laurel sighed in relief, as Oliver supported Barry's weight towards the Star Labs Van.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

After they had imprisoned Bivelo in the pipeline, Laurel felt sick at the thought that these men and women were kept in inhumane conditions and were not given a trial. This could be her, and Connor in there. She marched out ahead of Oliver, Caitlin, Barry, and Cisco to see Joe.

"Do these people get a trial?" Joe shook his head, as Laurel continued. "They deserve that right, enhanced or not, they are still human and needed to be treated as such."

Joe nodded but looked slightly concerned. "I'll see what we can do to only use this as a temporary prison until we are better equipped to handle, and house meta-humans in both the prison system, ensure that the courts, officers and the public are safe."

"Ensure that it is, or The IAB may receive an anonymous phone call." She turned around to see Oliver looking at her with a smile that always made her weak at the knees. "You ready to go back home?"

Laurel smiled, relieved that she would be finally returning home. "More than ever, I suppose Team Flash is following us home?"

Oliver chuckled lightly. "We helped them with Bivelo. Now they are going to assist us with our Boomerang Killer."

"Another Australian criminal threatening our city." She lamented.

Oliver sniggered lightly. "Well, Australia was a penal colony." He recalled Slade telling him one night that one of his contemporaries he had worked with when he was a liaison officer to MI6. His code name was Convict due to Australia being a former Penal Colony.

Before they made it to their motorcycle, Detective West called after them. "You saved my son if there is anything that I can do…"

Oliver looks from the Detective to Laurel, then back to the man. "Keep Black Canary's name out of the records, news, and the media." He said knowing that Laurel wanted to ease herself back into the vigilante life. That she still had reservations about the dangers of their life and what it could mean for their son. "The world isn't ready for The Black Canary to return just yet."

It seemed like Detective West understood and shook their hands. "I had the same reservations when I first got to hold Iris in my arms. Only the Green Arrow operated in Central City the last few days." He looked directly at Laurel. "You do whatever you need to ensure that your son is safe and healthy. Nothing else matters."


	7. Brave & The Bold Part 2

After dealing with ARGUS, at the Boomerang Killer's residence, Oliver sat on a bench, as Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow gallivanted and gawked at his, and his team's weaponry and suits. It was as if The Bunker became a damn museum exhibit.

He looked around to see Laurel at a table in the corner, catching up on her legal practice. He was glad to see an improvement in her mental health since their mission to Central City, and whatever magic Grant did, he owed that usually smug, self-important bastard a drink.

He turned his head to see Cisco about to arrowheads. "Don't touch that." He warned, then as if he was dealing with a child, Cisco's hand slowly moved to the jettison arrows. "Or that." CIsco's hands immediately pulled back at the gruffness to Oliver's voice.

How was it that when his son was brought down here numerous times, he never got up to as much mischief Cisco had in five minutes. And this was a man that both Laurel and Thea respected? He was a man-child.

Roy looked on in amusement. "Will I get a cut, since we started selling admission to our underground base?"

As Oliver scowled at Roy's playful comment, he turned to see Cisco staring up at their suits that were in the showcases almost as if they were something in between a holy relic and something to tinker with. He moved from left to right muttering their code names. "Speedy, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Arsenal." He moved back to the center, and looked over his shoulder towards "I have so many more improvements I could make."

Oliver grunted as Roy grinned in amusement. Roy called out to Laurel. "Hey, Laurel. Have you shown Cisco where you and Thea use to operate from?"

Oliver spun his head to see Laurel stand, looking somewhat startled from being thrust into the spotlight. "No. There's not much to see…" Her eyes moved from Roy to Oliver. She must have noticed his frustration because he hadn't expected the next words. "But, sure, I'll see if Thea is busy and she can join us." Cisco squealed as he followed Laurel up the stairs.

About a half-hour after Laurel and Thea had taken Cisco on a tour of the city, he felt his phone vibrate and answered the call from Diggle. Diggle explained that the Boomerang killer was at ARGUS and that both he and Lyla were there. After Oliver hung up, he and Roy put on their suits and left for ARGUS.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Laurel and Thea had shown the exterior of Laurel's old apartment complex, before taking him to Wildcat's gym. Cisco scrunched his nose at the smell and look at the old gym, the way his face crinkled at the musky stale smell of sweat made Laurel realize that perhaps this was her friends first time in a gym, or at the very least an old-school sort of gym.

"I would have expected Oliver to work out of a gym, and rough it considering his past, but you two?" He asked, raising a brow at both of the women.

Laurel shrugged as Speedy grinned. "If you knew the guy that trained Laurel, you would take that back. He is completely old-school."

Cisco looked around the place with a keen eye. "And you own it?" He asked, looking at Laurel.

"More or less."

"This is so cool!" He said as he moved around the interior looking at the old worn and faded images of different boxers and fighters, old trophies and the like.

Thea sniggered at his look, she explained. "If Ted heard you squeal like that, he would ask if you were a teenage girl swooning over a boy band."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

As a boomerang swung back around, ready to impale itself in Lyla's back, The Green Arrow fired an arrow to prevent the ARGUS agent, and friend's partner from being injured or worse. He looked at Arsenal and gave him a signal with his head.

The two archers jumped from the elevated walkway to the ground and chased after the Boomerang Killer.

The first arrow, Green Arrow shot was deflected by the man's boomerang in his hand, and quickly through the second boomerang, knocking Arsenal's bow away from him.

Arsenal snarled as he quickly pulled out his kali sticks. The two hooded archers moved in to fight the man who wielded the boomerangs.

Green Arrow ducked under the boomerang's razor edges, as the man dual-wielded them like daggers, sending cuts and thrusts at them in unpredictable movements.

Arsenal swung his kali stick, managing to slug the man in the jaw. The Boomerang Killer spat and grinned. He sent a hard-high kick to the Ruby Archer's chest sending him to the ground,

Before throwing several boomerangs at the Emerald Archer at point-blank range, before anyone could react, a blur of yellow lightning appeared and removed the boomerangs from killing the archer. In a puff of smoke, the Boomerang killer was gone.

Green Arrow looked around the room to see The Flash give him a playful smirk, before leaving.

After the fight, Arsenal and Green Arrow walked towards Diggle and Lyla. "Who was that?" Lyla asked, holstering her sidearm.

"Better question: Who attack you?" Attacking a government installation is a hard feat to complete. And yet this man had.

Diggle looked at his ex-wife and mother of his daughter. "And Lyla, don't tell them that it was an internal ARGUS matter. "

Lyla looked at her partner and sighed, "His name is Digger Harkness, former ASIS." She then looked at the two archers. "He specialized in weapons and technology before he became a turncoat. He became a mercenary, to the highest bidder.

She then explained that Harkness was inducted into Taskforce X. They were sent to Tanzania to assassinate a warlord. After the mission went south, the team was killed and the mission was scrubbed. She then proposed a theory that Harkness's bomb implanted in his neck had been an unintentional dud.

"We need to assume that due to his history, and history with ARGUS that all of ARGUS's bases are compromised. We will keep you safe."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

After getting the information about Digger Harkness's supplier, Klaus Markos, a member of the Bratva. Green Arrow, Speedy and Arsenal were waiting for The Flash to arrive.

Speedy whistled as she looked at the construction site that has been was due to a lack of funding after The Undertaking, and completely abandoned following The Siege. A lot of investors had avoided investing the funds into Starling. "So, this is your brother's new hang out? First a restaurant, and taxi service, then to lowly mechanics and now an abandoned construction site on the edge of The Glades?"

"Former brothers. I think if you recall, that I am no longer welcome amongst their ranks."

Arsenal looked around, the construction site, "Now, the entire Lance-Queen family are blacklisted from their ranks, and are now we are considered their enemies?"

Before Oliver could answer, The Flash zoomed up to them, "I cannot believe that you are a member of the Russian Mob." Barry sounded almost surprised, if not in slight awe, that Oliver had been a member of a notorious criminal organization.

"Former member." He assumed he and his family were granted clemency by Anatoly. Perhaps between Oliver aligning Speedy, as well as Slade killing what was let of Starling's chapter was too much to repair with platitudes. "We had a falling out with them." He then pointed at the construction site. "This is where they run their mobile cyber-crime division. It makes them harder to find, and less likely to be attacked by us, or others." He said thinking of Slade, who had killed Alexi.

The Flash stood between Speedy and Arsenal. "Hey, you two have a nice outfit, red suits the suit you both."

"Roy, take the southeast corner, Barry, you scan the perimeter, Speedy you're with me."

Both Roy and Barry want to do their respective jobs, while the Queen siblings moved into the main carpark, and into the part of the building that was built. They were about to strike, when they saw The Flash standing with Bratva members knocked out and zip-cuffed.

Speedy huffed looking towards her older brother. "Are you sure that I have the right codename?" She then looked at the speedster. "Show off." She muttered as she walked around the perimeter of the large room.

Barry shrugged with a grin. "I had like eight seconds to kill." He then looked at Oliver, and in a smaller, voice he asked; "Was I wrong?"

Oliver gave a quick shake of his head, and walked past the speedster and kicked in the door, to see Klaus Markos. The Bratva member promptly jumped from his chair swearing, only to run into The Flash. The speedster then pinned him against the wall, in the blink of an eye.

"My buddy want's a conversation with you."

Green Arrow moved in slowly to intimidate Markos. He held up on of Harkness' boomerangs. "You made this for Digger Harkness. I want his location."

"Go to hell!"

As the Emerald Archer drew an arrow, The Flash was shoved to the side by Speedy, who held Markos still. A green arrow was shot into the man's knee.

Barry looked at the two archers in fear, he knew Joe had said that Oliver and his team were dangerous, but he had never seen them up close. He looked at Speedy who loosened her grip and let the man fall to the ground clutching his leg. It was abundantly clear to him that the youngest Queen sibling held no love for the Russian Mobsters.

"The only thing that hurts worse than an arrow going in, is it coming out." Green Arrow then yanked the missile from the man's knee, causing him to cry out in pain, curling himself into a ball on the ground.

Barry looked at the archers and noticed Arsenal standing guard at the door. "What are you doing? You have to stop, your hurting him!"

'I'm getting information." He then glared at the man. "Where is he? I have a whole quiver of arrows, as do my two friends."

Barry looked at his mentor with trepidation as Oliver tortured the mobster, while Speedy and Arsenal just watched. Barry felt sick. It wasn't right, there were more humane ways of getting information than this. "He said he didn't know!"

Speedy looked over her shoulder as she unsheathed her sword. The steel, blade glistened in the dim light of the site. "He's lying."

Green Arrow pointed at Speedy's sword, before hauling the man up by the collar of his shirt. "If you ever want to be able to walk again, tell me where Harkness is!"

Markos pulled out a phone, "Here. Harkness gave it to me, it's encrypted." He explained that he already has an order for him, and called using the phone, and Harkness arrived. He then started pleading for his life, telling them that he didn't know where he was.

Barry disappeared with Markos, and returned in the blink of an eye, to see Oliver looking at the phone, while Speedy and Arsenal were sweeping the place for any more intel.

"Felicity can crack the encryption. Use this" Oliver said holding up the phone. "To track down Digger Harkness."

"You tortured that guy."

"I interrogated him." Oliver corrected.

Barry walked towards him and huffed. "When my friend told me that your tactics make you, Laurel, Thea, Roy, Diggle and Felicity criminals. I defended you. I had your back because I thought that you were a hero. I thought that we were supposed to be better than them."

Oliver was reminded of the conversations he, Laurel and Speedy used to have when he was The Hood, and they were The Birds of Prey. Only they had no illusions about hurting people to get information.

Laurel had made a Bratva brother permanently deaf and proceeded to push a Bratva thug off a rooftop when she was searching for a child that was kidnapped and was about to be sold into slavery. They knew how dark the world could be, but there was one line they didn't cross. One line that he now didn't cross and that was killing people.

"Barry…You live in Central City, where it is sunny all the time, and your enemies get cute nicknames. You are not in Central City." He then exhaled, and continued, feeling anger at how his friend was questioning his motives, drawing the line at killing is one thing, but relying on advanced interrogation techniques are necessary on the hardened criminals of Starling.

"I…We," He said waving his hand at Speedy and Arsenal, who were heading out. Oliver's voice became harsher as he continued. "Live in a city where my best friend was murdered, where my fiancée's sister was shot full of arrows and sent tumbling off a rooftop in front of Laurel, and our son. Where my mother was murdered before my eyes, and Laurel's father collapsed in front of her, from injuries related to Slade Wilson. So, before you…"

"My mother…" Barry interrupted. "Was murdered in front of me too. But I don't use my personal tragedies as an excuse to torture whoever pisses me off."

"I'm sorry Barry, I'm not as emotionally healthy as you are." He then was ready to walk out the door that his sister and her boyfriend walked out of.

"What's wrong with you?"

Oliver turned around, "When we agreed that you were staying, we decided that it would be on my terms. If that is proving too difficult, you know your way back to Central City." With having said his peace, Oliver walked off leaving Barry to think.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Barry made his way to Wildcat's Gym to see Laurel sitting with Caitlin, next to a small rug that resembled a savannah, with lions, elephants, and chimpanzees, on top of the boxing ring, it was a strange sight between domesticity for the old-school gym. It looked like something out of Joe's photo album of when he was young.

It was then he saw Oliver and Laurel's son, Conner. Playing with a toy xylophone. He had grown a lot since he last saw him. It was hard for Barry to believe that after his quarrel with Oliver about the ethics of torturing people, that he was a father to a young innocent child.

Did having a child justify his actions? Barry didn't seem to think so, Joe was never one to put his emotions ahead of a situation. He always saw Joe act with a clear mind when he was wearing his badge or uniform.

He walked towards them and smiled at Caitlin and Laurel, as he did, Barry mussed up Connor's hair. "Hey, Laurel, can I ask you something?"

Laurel hummed. "Sure." She said as she followed Barry out of the ring, to sit on a steel bench.

"Aren't we supposed to be better than the criminals? And if we are, how does utilizing their methods make us better?" It had been something that he had been wracking his brain about since he saw Oliver and the others brutally torture the guy.

Laurel looked up, "Sometimes, asking politely doesn't work, nor does turning up in our suits. What you have to remind yourself, Barry, is that these people are hardened criminals, pain is the language they understand, that they respect. It's not right, but it's the only way it is sometimes. We just don't cross the line, murdering people."

Caitlin nodded in agreement, as she made her way towards the pair. "She's right, I saw her do a similar thing that Oliver and his team did to Markos. She blew out his eardrums. After she found the location of the little boy that they kidnaped, she threw him off the building and into a dumpster below."

Barry's mouth opened and shut, perhaps for the first time realizing just how dangerous Starling City was in comparison to Central City. Barry nodded, and walked past them and into The Bunker, he would have to digest this more. Maybe by being _Central City's Guardian Angel, _he could provide a light, to prevent his city from becoming as dark and dangerous as Starling?

If he did, perhaps he may be able to avoid being that dangerous, to inspire people. The Birds were doing that for a while in Starling, but they could be places in a blink of an eye. He do what Oliver suggested, be the person to inspire and garner hope for his city.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Oliver was repaying his actions over and over again. It was all his fault. He had tortured Markos and fallen for Harkness' trap. It was all his fault that Lyla was fighting for her life in surgery. It could have easily been Thea, Roy, Laurel or Connor.

"It's all my fault." He said to whoever it was that had entered The Bunker and was making their way towards him.

"It's really not." Barry's voice answered.

"I tortured Markos to give up that information." Oliver licked his lips, as he contemplated his guilt. "It would never have happened if it weren't for me."

"I get the feeling that you don't say that very often. Apart from someone from the outside of your inner circle, I mean."

"To do what I do, Barry takes conviction." He said remembering Waller's words about doing whatever was necessary. "But, more often than not it's the will to do what is ugly," he said turning to look at his friend and protégé. "Every time I do what is necessary, I chip off piece by piece of Oliver Queen, until all that remains is the Green Arrow. And it feels as if nothing is left besides, Green Arrow.

Barry shook his head in disagreement, as he thought about what Laurel and Caitlin had said to him, and about how Oliver had a wife and child that he adored. "I think you are full of crap. You have convinced yourself that what you have endured has scraped off your humanity. I would argue, however, that it was because of that humanity you survived and became a man who would give his sweat and blood to save the people of your city. A hero. Not to mention that you have a fiancée that anyone with eyes can tell that you both love each other with all your heart, and you also have a little boy. You couldn't have achieved all those things if you never had a light inside of you."

Barry then cleared his throat. "I'm sorry what I said the other day when I was whammied. I said a lot of things that were untrue, Ollie. The truth is, it takes a person more courage and determination for someone without powers to go out in the field. And that is your superpower, courage, determination. And no one can rob that from you except for yourself. "

"Barry, I don't— Thank you, thank you, Barry," Oliver said sincerely before he fished out his phone to see that Felicity had a match on Harkness's ID. He was at Starling train station.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

As Digger walked through the platform full of people, a bright trail of yellow dashed around removing all the civilians, until The Flash appeared with Green Arrow in tow. The archer aimed his bow at Harkness.

"Get on the ground!" Commanded Green Arrow.

Harkness chuckled. "Now, why would I wanna do that, mate?"

"You hurt a friend of mine." He said thinking of Lyla in a hospital bed, with Baby Sara and Diggle watching over her. "You really think that there is a place in the entire world that you could run to that I couldn't find?"

Digger hummed, as he scrunched his face up. "Probably not, no. That is why there is a contingency plan in effect." He then held up a small device with a red LED light. "Five bombs in Starling." He then chuckled again. "Now, I was never good at Maths, but you could stop me, or you could stop the bombs, but you can't do both, can you?"

Digger looked directly at both The Flash and The Green Arrow. "The Bombs are armed. In ninety seconds, the city will be on fire."

Green Arrow without turning to look at his comrade, instructed him to go. The Flash disappeared in a flash of yellow lightning. Over the comms, Oliver could hear Felicity telling Barry that Laurel, Thea, and Roy were ready to assist.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Barry had found a bomb and was told by Felicity and Cisco not to touch it, that they believed the bombs were connected to each other, explaining that was why Harkness was so sure that they couldn't save the city from becoming an inferno and take him out.

Barry then traveled back to the Bunker in a blink of an eye, and grabbed Arsenal, and deployed him in one location, then did the same with Speedy, Laurel, and Caitlin.

Cisco directed that everyone had to cut the bomb's wire simultaneously in three seconds. After doing so, Barry looked around and heard, no explosion nor saw any infernos.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Green Arrow looked at the ensnared Harkness, both expecting to see and hear explosions, followed by the screams of people. But none came.

Digger Harkness smirked. "You really think that you have accomplished something here? Do you think that not killing makes you stronger? No, it makes you weak."

Oliver disagreed. "No, it means that I have humanity still within me." It took a certain kind of strength to avoid killing people to do the right thing, someone like Harkness would never understand.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Ra's stood in his throne room. That he has called his home for more than two centuries. As he sat upon his throne, one of his trusted horsemen, Sarab, walked into the chambers.

"Ra's Al Ghul," He bowed, as a sign of respect and perpetual fealty.

Ra's flicked his wrist as a signal for his horseman to rise. He then looked upon the man that was once, a father, a husband, and an agent of Advanced Research Group United Support, ARGUS, research, and special operations division of the United States Government. And most importantly a former friend of Oliver Queen.

Oliver Queen has shielded Al Saher from justice. What he told his youngest daughter was true, despite their mutual attraction to each other, Sara Lance was never truly a member of The League of Assassins. This was made abundantly clear in the early 1950s when he met Sara Lance from the future. Considering the company she kept, along with her reluctance to return back to Nanda Parbat, in favor of her family the year prior, confirmed his suspicions.

And despite her tenuous at best loyalty to The League, and the love she possessed for his only daughter that was not disowned and disavowed, Nyssa. He had to react with a strong hand, he could not allow a precedent to be made that allowed the unlawful killing of their own. No. Al Saher would receive justice, and Oliver Queen and his comrades would suffer the same fate for obstructing justice.

"Oliver Queen has had enough time to recant and disavow Merlyn. Take five of your best men. Take them to Starling City. Until he reaches out to you and my daughter, kill in his name. Make him rue the day that harbored our enemy."

"As you say, _Malik_"

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Oliver stood with Diggle and Thea, watching the news report of what had occurred earlier that night. What he saw made his blood boil.

"_What remains of the City's leadership, had an impromptu meeting regarding the future of this once prospering city. On the agenda, according to some insider reports, state that amongst many of the issues to be discussed was the issue of vigilantes."_

Thea groaned, "Why can't they see that we are doing what the police and city officials can't do?"

Oliver didn't answer, nor did John. Oliver suspected that it was due to the correlation between terrorist attacks, violent crimes, and vigilantes. They are operating under the assumption that the city was safe before they arrived and started to assist the crippled SCPD.

Even if Pike viewed them as a valuable ally, he was but one voice in a sea of others who do not feel the same.

"_During these discussions, Mayor Castle was shot and killed by The Green Arrow. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Palmer Technologies CEO Ray Palmer was also taken to Starling General Hospital, where he is currently in critical condition…_

Diggle folded his arms and looked at his friend. "I tried to call Felicity, she's probably with Palmer, it explains the lack of communication."

Oliver chewed his lip. And was about to speak when he heard the voice of Captain Frank Pike.

Pike stood in front of a lectern, "_I have just requested a first-degree murder warrant for the Green Arrow. With the assistance of the District Attorney, I have installed a task force to assist in apprehending The Green Arrow and his associates. These fine men and women have shot to kill orders if necessary. We have accepted these masked individuals for too long, and have become complacent about their actions. This ends tonight."_

The media was then allowed to asked questions, one reporter asking why The Green Arrow would suddenly decide to assassinate the mayor.

Pike gave a small shrug of his shoulders and explained that despite working alongside these vigilantes they had no idea what their end game was. But after the death of two of their finest officers; Detectives, Quintin Lance and Lucas Hilton, were tragically killed while assisting the vigilantes. "_The SCPD should have ended their association with them, the night either of these two valiant officers lost their lives."_

Oliver closed his eyes, as he thought about Lance dying, it was the what started Laurel on the slope she was on, Sara's death had temporarily pushed her over the edge, but she managed to pull herself back up.

He knew he was at fault. He brought in Hilton and Lance to help bring down Cyrus Gold, that ended the life and career of Lucas Hilton, a few months later, he allowed Quintin to fight against Mirakuru soldiers. His future father-in-law had succumbed to his injuries and stress and died in his eldest daughter's arms from a heart attack.

"I did this. All of this is my fault."

Thea turned him around to face her. "No, it isn't. Malcolm Merlyn is. We spared the man that killed Sara, and it has brought the wrath of The League, of Nyssa."

"I'm protecting him because he is your father, Speedy. I will not let you have his death on your conscience."

Diggle watched the two siblings glare at each other. "Perhaps, we should confirm Malcolm's innocence?"

Oliver grunted as he walked out of The Bunker to find Malcolm.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Daniel Brickwell sat in a lavish prison cell, he had almost anything he desired in his small cell. He finished his freshly cooked Foie Gras with mustard seeds and green onions in duck jus. He cleaned his face with a silk napkin. He looked at one of his men, enough money would buy the loyalties of people in here, to give themselves small freedoms, or to look after loved ones. A fellow prisoner, a man indebted to Daniel Brickwell.

"Start the preparations immediately."

"As you wish." The man gave a small bow of his head before conducting his affairs. It was time to prepare to get out of this hell hole and return home.


	8. Reap The Whirlwind

Oliver found himself at Malcolm's safe house, a penthouse in the more affluent part of Starling. He knocked on the door and called out to Merlyn.

Merlyn opened the door with a small grin. "Oliver, what a pleasure to see you." He left the front door open and walked further into his penthouse. Oliver closed the door, and walked up to Malcolm, grabbing him by the throat and pinning him against the polished ebony desk.

"This was you, wasn't it?" Malcolm smirked, which made Oliver enraged, he had put his relationship with Laurel on the line to protect the man that killed her sister. "I figured since I spared the man that murdered my mother I would never kill again." Oliver wrapped his dominant hand around Malcolm's throat tighter. "I was wrong."

Malcolm gasped for air, and his face turned red. "You may wish to reconsider…" He rasped out.

"Why?" Oliver asked, glaring at the man that had caused everything bad to happen since he blew up The Gambit.

"For Thea…"

Oliver held him against the expensive table, hearing the desk groan from the weight on top of it. "What?" He growled.

"Check your phone. I'll wait." Malcolm said, as Oliver released him, he took a step back. Oliver retreated back a step or two and pulled out his phone to see an encrypted message. He opened it to see something that made his blood run cold.

Oliver watched his phone, Sara was standing on a rooftop, smiling wistfully as she watched her sister and nephew leave. Sara walked towards the roof's edge, she hesitated when she heard someone speak in a modulated voice.

_ "Hello, Sara."_

Sara stopped and looked at the person in shock. _"What are you doing here?"_

Instead of answering, the person let loose several arrows that embedded themselves in Sara's chest and stomach. The force of the missiles forced Sara to stagger back and fall off the rooftop. Oliver's stomach churned. It reminded him of what he had done to Laurel when they had fought. When the Bratva ordered him to kill the Black Canary.

The person in black turned around, to reveal Thea. His sister had killed Sara.

Oliver felt sick. His beloved little sister killed someone. How was he going to explain that to either Laurel or Thea? Thea would be guilt-ridden, and Laurel would be distraught. And despite her new outlook following Central City, he couldn't risk her relapsing and attacking Thea. Even if it was a very unlikely scenario. He would have to tread carefully.

Malcolm smirked. "I don't think you want The League to see that. And if you kill me, they will receive that video from an anonymous source. They will kill your sister." He then waltzed around Oliver, "I trust that during your travels, have you heard of Vortua? A drug that makes people susceptible to suggestions, whilst retaining no memory of the incident. So, what I told Nyssa and you weeks ago was true, Sara's blood is not on my hands."

"I will tell this to Ra's. Explain that she was drugged. Coerced."

"He will still kill her, then he will destroy anything important to her." Oliver froze. "She fired the shots, as much as I was responsible for her actions, League blood is on Thea's dainty hands."

Oliver looked at Malcolm, he couldn't believe that someone would do that to their own child. He never fathom doing that to Connor, or any child that he and Laurel may have in the future. Nor could he see his own father do it to him, nor Quentin to either of his daughters, Maseo to Akio, Slade to his boys, nor John to Sara. A father is supposed to protect their child. A father does not groom them, or coerce them to become murderers.

"You gave her a death sentence," Oliver muttered out loud, more to himself than Malcolm. He would never understand how a father could murder one of his children and force the other to be a murderer. And that was a good thing. It meant that he was a good person. That he wasn't a monster.

"No." He said resolutely. "I have provided you with an incentive."

"To do what?" Oliver gritted out.

"Tell Ra's that you killed Sara Lance. By League law and customs you will be given the right to trial by combat. His…or your own death will erase any and all blood debt The League has with you and yours." Malcolm then sniggered. "I must confess, I thought that killing would be an issue, I'm glad that your family, that Thea is still a sufficient motivator for you."

Had he thought of endangering more of his family? Oliver wondered, as his fist curled.

Malcolm then smirked as he walked towards one of his rooms. "Don't take too long Oliver, considering what Ra's has already done, his patience is already waning. The streets will be bathed in blood if you don't act decisively. I'm sure you know your way out."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Oliver sat staring at Thea's red suit. He couldn't believe that Malcolm had ruined her. That Merlyn had corrupted and made his mischievous but loving sister.

He looked at the suit as he spoke to the silent room, not knowing that someone was in there with him. "Thea was always so kind. A smart-ass for sure, but… She was never born a killer. Laurel saw the light in her and trained her to be a hero, and Malcolm has returned and with what I found out… It will break her."

A hand came, and patted him consolingly on his back, and heard Roy's voice. "Speedy will cope. Tell Ra's the truth, perhaps he will grant Thea clemency since she was forced against her will? Just give Malcolm up to Ra's it's more than what he deserves."

It was never that easy. "Can't, Merlyn has the video. He has contingencies."

"You know that from what we know about Ra's and The League, from what Digg and Grant have heard, and what we know from Sara and Nyssa, Ra's will kill you if you challenge him."

"And if I don't fight him, the city will be razed and slaughtered. No, I have to fight, I have to do whatever it takes to protect my family."

"I'm the last person that would want you to back down from protecting Thea, but what about your family? Laurel and Connor?"

Oliver exhaled and looked to the ceiling as if it had the answers he needed. Laurel would be pissed, but she understood the life that they lived. They had agreed that they were giving their sweat, blood, and tears to make Starling a safer place. To help people, make the world a little safer for their son to grow up in. And to do that, there may come a situation where they would have to give their lives for the cause.

It was a hard, irrefutable truth. There was a good chance that if they continued their line of work, they would never witness their son growing up in the safer world his parents died for.

He would have to tell both Thea and Laurel the truth. He would have to resolve any friction that would lie between them. If the worst should happen, Thea was the only real family that Laurel and Connor had.

But before he did any of that, he had to ensure that it was her. Caitlin and STAR Labs were given the DNA from Sara's murder. Hopefully, it will come back with something that he could work with. That Thea was innocent somehow.

He moved to the computer to see if there were any encrypted emails or messages from Barry, Cisco, Wells or Caitlin. He exhaled as he saw the inbox was empty.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Laurel, Thea were standing in front of their father's grave, a beside his was Sara's. Laurel gave each of her deceased family members a small bouquet of flowers. She missed them, and her heart ached every time she thought of Sara and her father.

She watched with teary eyes as Thea helped Connor lay some flowers of his own onto his aunt's and grandfather's graves. The ground above Sara's final resting place was still soft, and unsettled. It provided a sharp reminder to her that the gravestone lied about the date of Sara's death. She desperately wanted the date on her headstone corrected. If only to let strangers that didn't know her that she didn't die a spoilt rebellious girl. That she was a hero.

But outing Sara, even when she was gone, would put a target on their heads. They had more than enough as it was, and Connor didn't need any more threats on his beautiful little head. She had to focus on her family, on Connor. She couldn't protect Sara, but she would be able to protect her remaining family.

Thea and Connor returned to stand next Laurel, as Thea wrapped a spare arm around her sister. "I promise, Laurel. We will get whoever did this. Once the League backs off, and we are sure that it was my mother's sperm donor, we will lock him up in the deepest, darkest hole we can find."

Laurel said nothing, other than rest her head against her baby sister's shoulder, and take solace that she still had another sister, a son, and Ollie. And nothing could take that away. Ted was right she had to focus on what she could control.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Felicity was sitting next to Ray, as he slept soundly after his surgery. She leaned over, and grabbed the television remote, and turned on the television, considering that phones and computers could affect the hospital equipment.

As she switched it over to channel 52, she saw a picture of her friend. Oliver was dressed in his Green Arrow suit. With big bold red word plastered over the top. _WANTED__. _

_"In the wake of the murders committed by The Green Arrow, Captain Pike has issued an arrest warrant for the vigilante known as The Green Arrow. Pike is now conducting the largest manhunt in this city's history. Captain Pike has also confirmed that other arrest warrants have also been issued for each of the Arrow's known companions; Arsenal and Speedy."_

Felicity quirked her brow, as she wondered why Laurel wasn't a part of that list. Surely people in Central City would have seen or heard Laurel when she was working with Oliver?

_"No, mention of the Black Canary.__" _The reporter said._"__Though it is still believed that she had perished in or during The Undertaking. There are some uncorroborated rumors state that Black Canary was spotted working alongside Central City's Flash, and her former partner, the now-notorious Green Arrow. Sources close to Central City Police Department have officially denied any sightings of the Black Canary."_

So apparently, Barry, Team Flash, and Joe West were attempting to keep at least one hero in Starling without their reputation being tarnished. At least someone would be able to keep the city safe and keep busy, even if it was someone who hadn't fought in over a year in the field excluding one mission in Central City, where the stakes were different.

It would mean that while the rest of the team were on the lamb, Laurel would be forced to shoulder the city on her shoulders. Considering her last outings here at home, when things got tough for her with Lacroix, Felicity didn't think that Laurel would handle the stress.

The woman at the best of times was a strong formidable ally, though, Laurel was also extremely stubborn to the point of exhaustion. Perhaps, she could help Ray with his suit, and convince Thea to suit up as Black Canary, and utilize a technological substitute to Laurel's metahuman power or at the very least to supplement it?

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Oliver, Thea, Roy, Diggle, and Laurel were in The Bunker, they had witnessed a faint purple smoke rising above the Magnuson Plaza. They believed it was a rallying point for The League to launch further attacks on the city.

Oliver watched as Laurel pulled up the map of the plaza. It was way too large to go in as a small group and cover the area. They would need to split up. It would make them vulnerable. Divide and Conquer.

Oliver looked at the four people in front of him. "We are going to need to spread out if we are going to be able to cover that in time before The SCPD get a whiff of us."

Diggle nodded. "True, but it will spread us out too thin, easier to pick us off." Diggle voiced Oliver's thoughts.

Oliver agreed, it wasn't something he wanted, but Ra's and his horsemen were tactical geniuses. They had to be able to serve and live as long as Ra's did. "Digg, I want you on over-watch, Speedy, you take the garage, Roy the level above that."

Diggle nodded, as he pulled out a bolt action sniper rifle from one of the cabinets. Oliver then looked at Laurel, she knew why she was on the bench, even if she had decided to be out in the field.

Barry had called telling them that Pike had called Captain Singh to see if the rumors of Black Canary being alive was real. Barry, Eddy, and Joe convinced him that it wasn't the case. Only the Green Arrow was present and utilized an arrow that mimicked his _former_ partner's banshee wail.

"Laurel," Oliver said while Thea and Roy were suiting up. "Stay on the comms. And when we finish tonight, I need to tell you and Speedy something."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Green Arrow converged on the designated regrouping point, to see both Speedy and Arsenal waiting for him.

"Scoped out the floor, nothing," Arsenal said.

"Same with the lower garage levels. Are we sure that it wasn't a false alarm?"

He doubted that. Weakness and mistakes would be beaten out of the initiates. They either survived the beatings and learned, or were killed. "The League is an ancient institution that thrives for these kinds of situations, they don't make mistakes."

Speedy swung her bow from one arm to the other. Green Arrow hit his comms; "Diggle?"

_"__North-side__ rooftop is clear, as is the visible perimeter of the building."__  
_

Arsenal looked at the two siblings, "We sure that they aren't baiting us? Making us run around on a wild goose chase while they do something else?"

It was certainly possible. Oliver mused until he heard Diggle. _"Hang on, I have movement. Upper level, southwest corner."__  
_

The Three hooded archers ran up the stairs, and walked out of the fire escape to the roof, to see a man dressed in League Regalia, and had a strange lower face mask, that separated him from the rest of the assassins. A Horseman. According to Sara and Nyssa, they were the best and most respected soldiers in The league second to Ra's himself.

The Emerald Archer shot an arrow at the Horseman. The man grabbed the arrow, and threw it on the ground, before ripping off his mask to reveal, Maseo Yamashiro. A man that Oliver had respected. His former ARGUS handler, his friend.

"Maseo?"

"Maseo Yamashiro is dead. Only Sarab remains." Sarab then ordered his handful of men to attack the archers in Arabic.

Both Speedy and Arsenal took out several league members easily, before they engaged with the other two assassins, leaving Oliver to deal with Maseo— Sarab.

Oliver deflected all of Sarab's sword strikes with his bow, and ducking under the high kicks, before finally kicking the back of Maseo's leg and pinning him to the floor by aiming his bow at him.

He then heard someone clapping from a short distance away. A man with slicked-back hair, a mustache, anchored by a beard that just covered his chin. He wore an exotic, almost royal cloak. This man must be Nyssa's father. Ra's Al Ghul.

He stood in front of the three vigilantes. "I see that even your fellow soldiers are trained well enough to defeat my unseasoned assassins. Very few can boast that." He then looked at Oliver. "I will ask this but once. Hand over Sara Lance's killer or watch as the people of this city make you a pariah, a villain that they must seize and eradicate."

Oliver closed his eyes. "We still need more time."

Ra's gave a small scoff. "Come now, Mr. Queen. We both know that either you have the killer's name and are biding time until the inevitable arrives, or you remain ignorant of the killer. And will never find the man or woman responsible." Oliver continued to aim his bow at Ra's. "Lower the bow, boy."The master assassin spoke to Oliver as if he were a mere child. " I will humor you. You have until either you are caught and put in a cage to rot or grant me a name, and I will solve the issue you have."

"You won't capture me."

"No. I won't." As Ra's retreated with his men, disappearing in the shadows as if they were never there, A helicopter illuminated the rooftop, and the three archers in particular with a blinding white light.

_"This is Starling City Police. Put your weapons down, and your hands up."_ An officer commanded from the helicopter with a megaphone. _"Green Arrow, have you and your people stand down now!"_

The three archers looked around them to see SWAT, Police cars, and the spotlight with a couple of red dots aiming at their chests.

Pike jumped out of the police cruiser, aiming his pistol at them. "Get on your knees, and hands behind your head! Don't be stupid."

The Emerald Archer and his Ruby Archers ran in the opposite direction, avoiding a few bullets before he heard Pike ordered them to cease firing their weapons. Oliver, Roy, and Speedy dived off the building firing their grapple arrows and rappelled down to the ground safely.

They ran down the alleyway, Oliver called out to his team members providing support. "Diggle, Pretty Bird?"

Diggle's voice came first. _"I got eyes on them. Blues everywhere."__  
_

He heard Laurel swear before she actually spoke to them. _"I wish that this technology was more intuitive, I'm trying to erase footage and prevent them from tracking you through the street cameras. Until I can get a hold of Felicity."_

Diggle's voice came over the communications again. _"Go, move__!__ Four tangoes headed your way. You gotta move, move, move, move__!__"_

Green Arrow, Arsenal, and Speedy sprinted down the alleyways, and side streets, as they were about to head out of the labyrinth of alleys and side streets, a police sedan blocked their path.

Oliver commanded his sister, and Roy to head together in a different direction. He would distract them, and take most of the heat off of them. He fired a small explosive arrow that caused a massive amount of steam to block their field of vision of his sister and her boyfriend as they escaped.

Oliver waited for the haze to dissipate, and allow the spotlight to hit him before he ran in the opposite direction to the others.

After sprinting, and vaulting over fences to avoid the police tracking him, he turned around to see that he had escaped them. He breathed heavily. "Diggle, Pretty Bird? Has Arsenal and Speedy escaped?" He waited for a beat. "Pretty Bird? Diggle?"

No response, he looked behind him, before looking around, to see the spotlight back on him. He turned and ran in a different direction with that provided more cover from their aerial scouts. Eventually, Diggle appeared in the van and opened the door. "Get in!"

Oliver ran from the spray of bullets and dived into Diggle's bulletproof van. "Speedy? Arsenal?'

"Canary has directed them to an old prohibition tunnel, that she has used in the past to get around. They should meet up with us in the tunnel off 8th. We can get there, but we need to clear those squad cars."

"On it." Oliver jumped to the back of the van, and opened the doors and fired a flash bang arrow that disorientated the driver of the closest police cruiser, and caused them to swerve and block the army of cops behind them.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Oliver walked with Diggle, Thea, and Roy into The Bunker, as he saw Laurel, he rushed over to her and brought her into his embrace.

"I was worried." Laurel mumbled into his ear.

"I know." He whispered back. "I love you."

"I love you too."

The couple pulled back, as Oliver pulled out his phone, and called Frank Pike. Oliver prayed that he could persuade Pike to see reason and to give them some space while they dealt with The League. He needed time to look at the results of Sara's killer, that had pinged while he was in the van with Diggle.

Twelve out of thirteen markers found belonged to him, or a close blood relative. That left; Speedy or Connor. It was true that Malcolm had forced his cheeky, gentle-hearted sister to become a killer. Something against her DNA.

"Hello, Captain."

_"How did you get this number?... It doesn't matter. I have three men in the hospital thanks to you, not to mention Castle and Palmer."_

"I understand that you and I have often butted heads, but you cannot be that angry to believe that I would go around killing innocent people as if the city was my personal shooting gallery."

"_Lance and Hilton may have given you the benefit of the doubt. Hell, Lance was one of your vocal supporters here in the SCPD and look what happened to __him__? Next time when what is left of City council meets in an undisclosed location, I will tell them to take a sledgehammer to the statues of the vigilantes. There is only one way this ends. Turn yourself in." _Pike then hung up on Oliver.

"I thought after seeing Maseo, one of Ra's horsemen, I could end this. But Ra's seemed almost amused. I've underestimated Ra's. And now we are all paying for it. I'm sorry." He said looking at his close friends and family.

Thea frowned, looking slightly put off that she was out of the loop. "What are you talking about. Ra's is here because of Malcolm. What don't I know?"

Oliver let out a shuddering breath. He hoped that Merlyn and Ra's hadn't forced him to shatter what was left of his family. Due to both of these men, and their machinations. He and Laurel had barely even planned their wedding yet.

"Malcolm killed Sara…" He looked up at Laurel who dug her nails into her palms. Meanwhile, Thea scoffed.

"Then why are we protecting him?" Thea asked, rubbing Laurel's arm.

He didn't know what Laurel was going to do, would she allow Thea to comfort her, to apologize? He didn't know, and he was now forced to tell the two most important women in his life the truth that could potentially break their bond. A close relationship that had developed since they were young, and was reinforced when Laurel returned home.

"Malcolm was smart about it; he didn't do it directly… He used someone, he drugged her so she wouldn't know what she was doing."

"She?" Laurel and Thea both asked simultaneously.

"She, who?" Thea asked again, feeling dread filling her stomach.

Oliver's eyes darted from Laurel to Thea and watched his fiancée with his peripheral vision. Laurel tensed, as Thea looked up at the woman, that she considered to be her elder sister. "Laurel…"

A hundred different thoughts sped through Laurel's head. Malcolm had used the woman she considered a baby sister to kill her own blood. Thea killed Sara. Her mind reeled back into the dark thoughts she was having a few months ago.

Perhaps, people like her are better off being alone, so they don't infect others. So that people like Malcolm couldn't use her friends or family against her?

She turned to look at Speedy, her eyes were full of tears, and her cheeks were tear-stained, she could feel her hand around hers, begging for forgiveness. Laurel's hands curled into her fist and felt her nails dig into her flesh.

Thea's voice hitched, as she kept speaking her voice trembled with sadness, guilt, and remorse. "Laurel… I didn't know, I promise you. I didn't know it was me, I'm so sorry, Laurel." When Laurel didn't move a muscle, didn't utter a word, Thea continued. "I'll… I'll hand myself over to Captain Pike. I can't make this right, but I can atone for it by serving time. I can't hurt Connor, you and Ollie. I'm so sorry, Laurel. You're my sister, and I killed yours."

Laurel swallowed down the anger she felt; Thea didn't deserve it Malcolm did. She tightened her jaw and felt a warm droplet of blood trickle down her fist. Malcolm was smart about it. He knew that she would want revenge but Thea was an innocent, a victim as much as Sara was. Thea was just as much her family as Sara was.

"If Merlyn drugged you it wasn't your fault." She then looked at Oliver, the man that was protecting her sister's killer. The killer of their son's maternal aunt. "How can you protect him? How long have you known?"

His sad blue eyes looked at her with remorse. "Malcolm showed me a video of it, a day ago. I only confirmed it a few minutes ago, after Caitlin isolated the DNA. I wanted to tell you both under better circumstances but…"

"Ra's and Malcolm forced your hand," Laurel answered for him in a clipped tone. Every time she felt like she was taking a step forward the universe seemed determined to throw her back five steps.

"Yes," Oliver replied with a tone of voice that was laced with his guilt.

Laurel closed her eyes. She had to focus on what she could change. If she looked back, she was lost. She just had to keep her family safe and ensure that Connor was safe.


	9. Condemned

Pike woke up in an abandoned warehouse, he presumed that it was somewhere in The Glades. He looked around to see men in black and a man wearing a fitted black suit, with a dark green silk tie.

"I apologize for the rather crude way I had to retrieve you."

Pike blinked. "Who are you?"

"I have gone by many names, a necessary evil of my line of work, I'm afraid. You may call me by the name I was given at birth; Henri Ducard." The man revealed, with a slight bow. It was as if the man had an aura of the aristocracy of old the way he spoke and carried himself.

"You work for some sort of government clandestine group?"

Ducard looked at Pike as if he were but a mere child. "We work from the shadows, yes. You hunt for the man known as Green Arrow."

Pike was thinking about all the people that he had directly and indirectly killed. Lance and Hilton. "You willing to devote your resources to help me find him?'

Pike watched, as Ducard's lips curled upward slightly. "You will be able to find him quite easily, once you know his name."

"Why would I believe any name that you say?" Pike asked, feeling uneasy around the well-dressed man.

"You will think about all that your friends have told you about him. Then you will research him, and come to the irrefutable truth, you will know; Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

An FBI agent sat waiting for Daniel Brickwell to be transferred to the consultation room, she looked down to see the large folder that had rubber bands keeping the pages secure. The Brit had never given them information. Not even after a year of near-constant meetings every month, sometimes twice to make him break. He always remained tight-lipped.

It pissed her off that she was being passed over for a promotion, due to her financial issues, that she was in debt due to her paying her brother's treatments for his Huntington's Disease. She was his big sister, it's her job to look after her elder brother.

Debt made her a target for people who wanted a mole, or someone to manipulate in The Bureau. So, despite her stellar record, she was passed over and made to continually interview the man who had brought Starling City to its knees. A feat that the city had yet to recover from; due to subsequent terrorist attacks. A colleague of hers was tasked with the potential correlation between all the terror attacks and the emergence of metahumans in Central City. The timing was too coincidental.

Samandra sighed, as she looked around the almost sterile white room, and the steel table she sat at, it wasn't until a few minutes later, she watched as Brickwell was let into the room, wearing his prison blues.

"Mister Brickwell," She said pulling out her identification and showing it to him. "My name is Special Agent Samandra Watson of The Federal Bureau of Investigation." She then pocketed her ID and continued. "The FBI wants your assistance to…" She scoffed at the situation, knowing the outcome. "Let's just get to the point, and tell me to shove it, so we can get on with our day?"

After an awkward silence, with Brickwell massaging his cuffed wrists. "Tell me, Special Agent Watson, do you love someone, anyone so much that you would do anything to protect them?"

Samandra reeled back slightly, "You threatening me?" She asked with a cold voice.

"Quite the opposite, Love." He said, quietly, almost politely. "I have made many illegal and immoral choices. I accept that I am paying my debt to society here. But what I do not accept, is that my son is forced to pay for my sins. That he is forced into a flawed system, rather than being with people I know that would cater to him with every need and love him unequivocally. I will do anything to protect my son, Sammy, you understand? Anything."

Samandra sat up in her seat, her interest was certainly piqued. "What are you saying, Mr. Brickwell?"

"I want to make a deal." He said after a few beats.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Oliver and Laurel watched the news as they sat in The Bunker, where both parents felt the weight of the world upon their shoulders.

He gently kissed his son, as he rested on Oliver's chest, and turned slightly to gently give Laurel what he hoped was a reassuring kiss on her temple, a silent promise that he knew he couldn't keep. That they would be ok.

But they both knew the truth, they had underestimated Ra's and now they are reaping what they have sown. Oliver blamed himself for putting his family's life in jeopardy, even if he accepted prison time, he doubted he would survive the trip to his cell.

The League does not like loose ends.

He would be leaving Laurel, Connor, and Thea with a dark cloud over them that would be his reputation as a murderer. It would cause them to be shunned. Laurel's practice would fall apart without clients.

He never should have trusted Malcolm. He should have learned from his parents' mistakes, and not associated with Malcolm, and just offered Malcolm up to Nyssa who could have been persuaded to allow Thea to leave, as she was a victim as much as Sara.

He had to keep moving forward; _A shark that does not swim drowns. _

He wasn't paying attention to whatever segment that was discussing FBI stings around Starling, including in The Glades and The Warehouse District. Then the segment quickly changed to a live feed of Captain Pike discussing The Green Arrow, with big bold letters on the bottom of the screen, saying _'Breaking News'._

_"We have had a breakthrough, in the last twenty-four hours in our investigation into the man only known until last night; as The Green Arrow. The District Attorney has just issued an arrest warrant for the person solely responsible for these acts of senseless violence. Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous, do not approach him…"_

"Pike knows." He muttered gently, as he rubbed Connor's back slightly. Holding his son in his arms provided him with a slither of peace during this storm that he and his family were forced to endure again. Only this time he had brought the storm to them.

"And now so does everyone."

It was all his fault. "I'm so sorry, Laurel. Nothing seems to go our way, and it's all my fault. I should have killed Malcolm when I had the chance. Given him to Nyssa, plead to her humanity for Thea's life." His voice hitched and felt his eyes sting from the salty tears pooling in his eyes. He had doomed his soon-to-be-wife and their son's future. "I should have made sure he was dead. Especially after we had already inadvertently killed him a year before."

They both heard footsteps in the main part of The Bunker, followed by a slight knock in the archway as Speedy, Roy, Diggle, and Felicity walked in.

"We need to pull some sort gambit throw them off you sent, Oliver," Felicity said, as she walked in.

Diggle pointed at the television feed, "She's right Oliver, you have managed to escape those accusations once, why not again?"

Oliver shook his head, "I had a plan, and it only just worked." He said looking at his sister, who had just picked up her nephew and was making strange faces, and quietly blowing raspberries on his stomach now that his sleep had been disturbed because of everyone in the room, causing his son to burst out in giggles, a stark contrast to how everyone else felt. Connor was blissfully ignorant of the Sword of Damocles above their heads. "This, this is Ra's' plan. He is forcing my hand to give up the killer."

He watched as Thea stilled slightly, at his words, before sullenly going back to play with Connor, careful not to let the infant near her side, that a League assassin had barely grazed her with their sword.

Oliver looked over at Felicity, "How's Ray?"

"Better than you." She said, sounding scared. She then looked around the room, before stopping on him again, "Please tell me you have a brilliant plan?"

"I have nothing. He cut us off at the knees."

Roy looked down to his feet, before looking at Thea, before looking at Oliver and Laurel. "What if Diggle goes out again as The Emerald Archer? He did it before?"

"Pike has a lead and must have some form of evidence. He won't rest until he has Oliver or The Green Arrow in custody." Diggle said, crossing his arms.

"Can't run either. Pike has frozen Laurel's and my bank accounts and assets."

"Mine too," Thea said, as she laid her nephew into his playpen. "He doesn't want you able to flee, thanks to what is left of our wealth."

Oliver stood up, and walked up the stairs, he ignored all the pleas for him to stop, and explain what he was going to do, bar one person. Laurel. She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "You're going to give yourself up? If Ra's won't kill you before you get into custody, The City will go for the death penalty… I know what we promised each other after your mother was taken from us, but… I can't do this alone, Ollie. We're partners for better or worse.

He walked back with her down the stairs and looked at Diggle. "Diggle, can you give me one last favor before I turn myself in?"

He nodded. "Of course, man, you don't even need to ask."

"Can you marry us?" Diggle gave a small, almost proud smile before Oliver looked back at Laurel who was shocked. "I know it's not what we envisioned… But will you marry me, Dinah Laurel Lance?"

Laurel jumped into his arms, kissing him, and mumbling, 'yes' over and over again. He then pulled her back and held her hands as she looked into her gorgeous green eyes. He wanted to remember this moment with his family and close friends. He pulled out the two rings that they had picked out. Two simple yet elegant gold bands. It was them; they didn't care about parading a giant expensive piece of carbon.

He gently put the ring on her finger. "Laurel, Pretty Bird, we have been through hell together, even when we were separated. You showed me that there was more to me than a killer. I'm lucky to have met you, and even luckier to love you. We have a beautiful baby boy together, there is no one else in the world, I would rather spend the rest of my life with."

Even if he didn't have long to live. And this wasn't the wedding that they had planned, but then both of their lives had never gone to plan. He was marooned on an island, and eventually became a vigilante, Laurel in her grief channeled it and became a hero in her own right. After drinking a little too much champagne following The Undertaking, and mourning Tommy, Connor was conceived. He was the best thing that Oliver had ever done.

He and Laurel had agreed, that even if their plans went awry for their life, they still loved it, and the people around them.

Diggle looked at Laurel and gave her a slight nudge from her revelry. "Laurel?"

She hummed, and sniffled, as she put the ring on Oliver's fingers. "You're the love of my life Ollie, I've known that since I got to know you. And I wish that we could do this under better circumstances, but with us, life never goes as planned. I love you, Ollie." Thea handed her sister a tissue and rubbed her back.

Diggle smiled at the pair, "By the power vested in me, I proclaim you husband and wife." He then smiled as he allowed Oliver to kiss his bride.

It wasn't a real marriage, everyone in the room knew it. But for them, it was just as real as if they had a marriage license. In their hearts, Laurel and Oliver were married, even if it was only for a minute, they had bound their hearts in matrimony.

After the small congratulations, the atmosphere returned harder and melancholic than ever. He kissed Laurel and did the same with Connor. He walked over to Thea and asked her to look after their family. Once she nodded tearfully, he silently left The Bunker. He knew his fate was waiting for him.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Roy watched, as Laurel wept in Thea's arms. This woman had been through hell, so had Oliver. They had given their blood, sweat, and tears for Starling CIty, they had their family, something to live for.

He cleared his throat to do what he needed to do to ensure Oliver would be able to have a fighting chance at living with his wife and son, he needed Laurel and Thea to leave. He walked over to the two women and handed Connor to Laurel.

"Laurel, perhaps you and Speedy should take the little man home? He needs to sleep." Roy said before he hissed as his girlfriend touched his arm that John had recently removed a bullet from his bicep. A wound that he had taken protecting Thea from the spray of police bullets.

Laurel was about to protest when Thea nodded and led her family out and home to their loft. After the three Queens left, he looked at Felicity and Diggle. "If we were in Oliver's position, he would do whatever it took to help us. No matter the personal cost."

He just hoped that one day, Thea would forgive him.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Pike was sitting opposite Oliver, he berated the man condemning him for every terrorist attack that has occurred in the city. The deaths of; Thomas Merlyn, Lucas Hilton, Moira Queen, Quentin Lance.

Pike asked when the madness was going to stop.

Oliver could only think about the people he had lost, those that had died for him, or by him directly or otherwise. He then thought about the people he was leaving behind, knowing that he was on the final leg of his life.

Laurel. She would be a widow of one of the most hated men in the city. A single mother. Connor, the seed of someone that the city would condemn. And Thea, an orphan with no brother, all she would have is Roy, and a devastated and broken sister-in-law and nephew.

He had come back home to right his family's wrongs. To redeem the actions for his father and mother. Instead, he had tarnished his family's name. He failed. Ra's had shown him that.

The armored van came to a screeching halt as Pike jumped out, a figure in a dark green suit jumped from the roof of the vehicle and down to the road and knelt with his hands behind his head. Oliver froze, thinking that Ra's was giving him the final push to reveal the murderer of Sara.

You have the wrong man, Captain." The Green Arrow said. "I can't in good conscience allow an innocent man to take my place." He then lowered his hood, revealing Roy. "I am The Green Arrow."

Oliver felt sick. Roy was giving up his life. They all knew Oliver's wishes. He would have to discuss with them what it means to honor someone's sacrifice. If he ever gets the chance.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Thea put Connor in his room, then she wrapped a blanket around her sister, now sister-in-law. As she wrapped the blanket around Laurel she sat down and rested her head against Thea's shoulder. Thea wrapped her arm around her as they watched the television in silence.

It was some dumb soap opera that neither cared for, but at that moment, it provided them with ambient sounds and voices to keep Laurel's dark thoughts away. All of a sudden, the soap was switched over to a breaking news segment.

"_There is breaking news regarding the identity of the hooded vigilante, known as The Green Arrow. According to the authorities, a new development has occurred. A man by the name of Roy Harper, a former Glades resident with a criminal history has given himself up, and identified himself as The Green Arrow…"_

Thea felt like she was about to be sick. First, Ollie, her brother, was forced into a corner, and now Roy wanted to play the martyr. She looked at Laurel. "We have to do something!" She noticed her sister was frozen watching the screen. "Laurel?"

Laurel looked at her, "We can only save one of them. And we don't know if Roy was acting alone or with help from the other two."

Thea chewed her lip. "They will keep it hush-hush if they are a part of it. Perhaps they have a plan for Roy?"

Laurel hoped she was right. Their family has had enough bad luck as it was. "I can try to get a judge to expedite a Habeas writ. But saving Oliver will be condemning Roy… If we do this, we have to have faith that they have a plan."

Thea sighed, was she willing to put her and Roy's happiness above Laurel, and Ollie's? Above Connor, who would only see his father with a divider between them? Thea closed her eyes and prayed for anything, anyone that was listening to help ensure that both Ollie and Roy got out alive.

"Do it."

Laurel pulled out her phone and started to talk to a judge.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Laurel walked into the SCPD, with the writ in her hand. She saw Pike intimidatingly standing over her husband, she marched over to her father's colleague.

"Oliver?" She said as she made her way towards them. "Not another word." She commanded him as if he were just another client. The last thing she needed was someone questioning her integrity and state of mind. She needed to compartmentalize. She looked at Pike. "Uncuff him."

"Your father would be rolling in his grave, knowing that you had a child with a murderer."

She forcefully shoved the writ into Pike's chest. "Alleged, and is considered innocent until you have proof. Thanks to the man that you have in the interrogation room, wearing the Robin Hood suit." She then smiled at him. " And Oliver Queen is not just the father of my son, but my husband." Her father had gotten past his issues with Oliver and was just happy to see his eldest daughter happy and starting a family of her own.

Pike scowled as he uncuffed her husband. "This isn't over, Queen. We both know those deaths are on you, and now you're condemning a young man for your crimes." After Oliver was unshackled, Pike left for the interrogation room.

Oliver massaged his wrists, before looking at Laurel with irritation and disappointment. "What are you doing, Laurel?"

She hugged him, and he barely returned the embrace. Laurel tried hard not to let it sting. "I don't know what the hell is going on, but I am making sure that both of you don't rot in jail."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

The next morning, Oliver made his way to where Roy was kept in custody, he walked in and gave him a rueful smile. "Why?"

Roy shook his head. "You have a family, Oliver. You, Laurel, Thea, and baby Connor. A proper family. Your family needs you; The City needs you. Ra's will kill you if you are sentenced, or the courts will."

Oliver shook his head, "Roy, what about Thea?"

"She can survive without me, I… I already know what's it's like growing up without a father, don't subject Connor to the same life. I killed that cop, Mirakuru or not. I need to receive justice for that.

"I will try to save you…" Oliver said to his friend helplessly.

Roy gave Oliver a sad smile. "The die has already been cast."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Oliver was pissed off. Diggle and Felicity had wiped down the entire Bunker down, only leaving Roy's prints. The playpen was removed and placed in Thea's manager's office, Arsenal's suit, Black Canary's and Speedy's were all removed to the secondary base.

They were willing to let Roy be hung out to dry. They were a team; a family and you don't betray family. For better or worse, his parents had taught him that when he was a child and his time with Slade, Yao Fei, Maseo and Anatoly solidified that belief.

He looked between them as he spoke. "You wiped the entire place?"

"And your more sensitive items, along with your wife and sister's gear. Your welcome." Felicity replied.

He glared at her; how could she leave Roy to the wolves? "You didn't remove Roy's prints."

Diggle squeezed his shoulder, acting as an intermediary between Oliver and Felicity. "Roy already confessed, no point throwing you under the bus too. Not when Ra's is still lurking around with The League."

"I'm not losing Roy."

"And what?" She asked rhetorically. "Should we just tell Laurel to take on Ra's herself? Or add Thea? While your sister has been in the field, Laurel has been off fieldwork for the better part of a year. Neither of them is equipped to handle him, or The League of Assassins."


	10. The Climb

**A/N-My apologies for the late update, I had a nasty storm that knocked out my internet for a few days.**

**A special thanks to Maquis-Leader for helping me with some of Ra's dialogue and allowing me to play with her concept of how powerful Ra's is compared to Oliver's jack of all trades, master of none. (Except for archery.)**

* * *

Oliver left Verdant, knowing that he was being followed by plain-clothed cops. He walked down several alleys before scaling a fire escape. He perched himself behind the concrete wall on the rooftop and peeked out to watch the plain-clothed officers illuminating the dark alley with their police issued flashlights. The high bright beams of light danced around the laneway, casting dark shadows.

"Where did he go?" One asked, with a gruff voice.

"The guy's not stupid, he spent the better part of five years on a jungle island. I'm sure he learned how to hide from predators like tigers, bears, crocodiles and the like..."

They were right he did know how to hunt and hide from predators, but it wasn't the animals that gave him pause. It was people. Monsters like; Kovar, Reiter, Winters, Ivo or Fyers. What the police didn't realize is that while it was true he knew how to evade his pursuers, he also learned how to turn the tables on them to become the predator.

Oliver paced away from the alley in a crouch, leaving his tail behind. He knew what he had to do. It was the only way to keep his family safe. Malcolm had thrown a grenade, a timed explosive into his family, and only now was it tearing his life asunder.

He walked down a long hallway lit with braziers every so often. Oliver felt the heat kiss his skin as he walked past them. The dimly lit claustrophobic hallway was hard to breathe in thanks to the lack of ventilation. Sara had told him that The League used outdated methods, but he didn't expect them to be casting fires for light, especially in a building connected to the city grid.

He prayed that what he had to do, had to say was believed by Ra's. It was the only way to keep his family safe. Laurel's words rang through his head as if she was right next to him.

_ "A mark of a hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice their wellbeing for innocent lives. You are a hero, Ollie." _She had told him that to reassure him that he was doing the right thing going out every night as the Green Arrow, even when he had his infant son waiting for him at home.

Starling may never come to realize what he was planning on doing. How he was not just giving his life for a mass murderer, or his sister, but preventing the slaughter of every innocent life or otherwise in his city. It didn't matter to him if people knew. Even if some did; those in his inner circle. His friends and family.

He watched Nyssa walk towards him, bow resting in her hand. "Where is he?" He asked, cutting straight to the point.

Nyssa snarled, "Do you think my father, The Demon's Head, would grant you an audience simply because you wish it?"

He certainly hoped that him making his way to them, and requesting an audience, would allow him the chance to protect his family. "Yes, because I ask it."

Nyssa's lips were slightly upturned. "This way." She walked ahead of them, neither saying anything as he followed her into a large room, with men and women cloaked in their League garb, lined up in rows.

In the front and center of the soldiers, he saw the robbed man. Ra's. He was facing away from him. Oliver, out of the corner of his eyes saw Maseo— Sarab. A phantom wearing his friend's face like a mask.

"You will kneel before, _Milak _, The Demon's Head," Maseo commanded, as he held the grip of his blade.

Oliver straightened his back; he was not sworn to Ra's. Nor was he subservient to him. Oliver held his hands behind his back, in a polite, yet formal pose. He was willing to show some respect to the man if the older man would listen to him.

Sarab withdrew his blade, and stilled, as he caught sight of his liege raising his hand. A silent command.

Ra's then turned around, He looked Oliver up and down with a curious, meticulous eye. As if he were evaluating Oliver before him.

"You're just a boy." Ra's mused as if Oliver was a mere curiosity. "When we last saw each other earlier, you hid under the hood of a man that is much older than yourself.

Oliver remained stoic, yet once mentioned he was just a boy, his mind immediately found Connor. The jewel of his life. Connor would never grow up with a father. But he would at the very least have a loving mother, a protective loving aunt, and father figure in Diggle. And a grandfather in Ted Grant.

"Mr. Queen." Ra's said as he slowly walked towards him, his robe trailing behind him. "You failed this city. You are but a pariah, an outcast. A criminal. Now, no one will negate what will be done to the city you love, blood will flow through the streets. Blood of every person in this city that you protect and love."

He felt his jaw clench. "Nobody in my city will die tonight."

"You were given an option boy; Hand over the person responsible for the death of; Ta-er al-Sahfer. You failed to do so. You chose a different path that was offered. So, unless you have come to offer a name so that we will do what is necessary until either you or your comrades will give us what we need to perform justice."

Ra's walked around him, and Oliver ceased to hear the man's muffled footsteps. "You come alone?"

Oliver gave a short jerk of his head. "I killed Sara." He looked calmly at the confused and hurting, Nyssa. "Sara begged me to skewer her with arrows. She couldn't handle the guilt on her conscience." He turned his head to look at Ra's. "You know this to be true, she wasn't stripped of her humanity from either Lian Yu or by The League. She was brought up by a man that had a very different philosophy to what you have here."

Oliver paused to let them digest his words. "It wasn't the first time she had chosen death over The League." He looked at Sarab with disgust. "I can't say that I don't understand."

Oliver internally prayed that Ra's, Nyssa and Maseo would believe his lie.

Ra's walked back to face him, face to face. Despite the man's shorter height, it felt like The Demon's Head was towering over Oliver, just with the way he eyed him. "I should have my horseman, Sarab make you a head shorter. Not for killing my daughter's beloved." He said slowly and methodically. "No, Mr. Queen, I should have you killed for you think me a fool."

Oliver bit the inside of his cheek. It was a gambit, and he should have known better than to try to outwit the man who has lived for centuries. "By League law, I have a right to trial by combat. Do you accept?" He asked slowly, and dangerously.

Ra's exhaled audibly through his nose in amusement. "It has been just shy of seventy years since someone has challenged me."

"Do you accept?" Oliver repeated.

"Oh, yes." Ra's said with a slightly amused voice. It's as if it were a child requesting an adult to a fight. It was at that point that he truly felt out of his depth. Ra's then walked away, leaving all but Sarab and Oliver behind. "You boy, have been trained well, but you are no master at fighting. I will show you what a master is truly capable of very soon, boy."

Sarab turned his head towards Oliver. "You didn't kill Ta-al-Sahfer. I have no desire to watch an old friend of Maseo Yamashiro's be killed." For a glimmer, a brief second, Oliver thought he saw his old friend back before it molded back into the phantom that stole his face. "Under our code, you have twelve hours to settle your affairs. On the thirteenth hour, you must be here." Not-Maseo handed Oliver a small note.

Oliver turned on his heel and walked out. He was under no illusion that they would punish him and everything he loved if he reneged on their customs.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Samanda walked in the offices of the FBI, she couldn't believe it, she had arrested some of Starling City's criminals that were known to be elusive, and fly under the radar. Nothing that they, nor the local cops had on them ever stuck, and yet she had caught them.

As she opened the door to the bullpen, all her colleagues stood and clapped. Her senior agent walked up to her, shaking her hand. "You caught _The Skipper _. You caught that slippery asshole."

Samandra chuckled, and beamed at her superior, "Not just him, got his left and right hand as well. On top of all that, I also managed to also get two judges and a police lieutenant from Lamb Valley, and then guess who else? The deputy mayor."

"Damn. As if Starling City needed another scandal, their vigilante problem, terrorist attacks now this?" He clicked his tongue, before speaking, "The Irish must have been paying off all these people with more than sexual favors?"

Samandra gave a proud snort, "The computer guys have their computers. It's a matter of time before we find their money. Once we find it, who knows how far down the rabbit hole it will lead us?"

"Thank you, Daniel Brickwell, you, Cockney bastard."

"He is definitely the gift that will keep on giving." She said with pride, she could now show her superiors that despite the precariousness of her being in debt, she is a good agent and is an asset that is worth promoting.

All she had to do was keep Daniel Brickwell on a leash, and keep the carrot in front of him, and together they would be able to save hundreds of lives, and she would get the recognition she deserved and the promotion that will help her care for her brother Georgie.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Thea sat on the cold steel bench and looked through the hard-translucent barrier to see Roy dressed in his prison jumpsuit. She hated having to the man she loved dressed as a guilty man as if he hadn't saved Starling from Slade, and his Mirakuru soldiers, or helped her and her family evacuate The Glades.

Her eyes stung as she looked at him, her eyes threatening to give way to the teary floodgates. "It didn't have to be this way, Roy."

She watched for what felt like hours, as his throat bobbed up and down as he attempted to rein in his emotions. He was trying to be strong. "Yes, it did. I did it for justice, and for my _real _family."

Her, Oliver, Connor, and Laurel.

Roy fell upon his sword, so they didn't have to. It was all Malcolm's fault, and they couldn't do anything because the rat bastard had recorded her killing Sara. Knowing how meticulous and conniving Malcolm was, he likely had more than one redundancy if he was either attacked, killed or his footage was destroyed or altered.

"I'm sorry…" She said as she pressed her hand against the pane.

"I'm not." He said sincerely. " You gave me a family, Thea. People that care about me, unconditional love. And it goes both ways." Roy mimicked her gesture, it wasn't what either wanted, to be separated by the barrier, but for now, it would suffice. "I never had a real family growing up and all of you gave me a place to belong."

"I love you." Thea croaked.

Roy looked pained, as if he wanted to say more, but couldn't. "I love you too, Thea Queen." He responded with a few tears escaping his eyes and falling down his cheeks.

The guard then patted his shoulder and helped Roy stand and leave the visitor area, and back to his cell.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Laurel watched, as Oliver was whispering promises and declarations of his love to their son. Laurel blinked away the tears, as she busied herself washing up the dishes, after a little while, she noticed that Thea had silently started wiping the dishes with a tea towel.

Laurel lowered her voice so that Oliver couldn't hear her in the other room. "Ollie tell you about what he has to do?"

Thea nodded slowly, her lips pursing slightly. "First Dad, then Mom, Roy and now, Ollie… Feels like everything is being ripped apart." She mumbled.

She wished she had platitudes to give to her baby sister. It was her job as the big sister to keep Thea safe and happy. She was failing. Just as she had with Sara.

After a short silence, Thea wrapped her arms around Laurel. "How are you feeling?"

"Lost? And I can't help but feel that warriors are meant to be alone. If I never took you under my wing, Roy would be safe. If I never let myself get close to Ollie, he wouldn't be giving up his life for us." She exhaled. "I'm starting to think that Ollie was wrong when he came back from the island. He's not the one cursed. I am. Everyone I love leaves me sooner or later. I was told to focus on what I have, but… It all comes tumbling down eventually."

Thea tightened. "I'm not going anywhere, and I'll if Malcolm comes near Connor, I'll kill him. We're sisters, we have to protect each other."

A few seconds, a distraught, pale-faced Oliver walked slowly in. "Roy…"

"Ollie?" Thea asked as he kept one arm around her sister for support.

Oliver's lips thinned, as he tried to talk. "Roy… Roy was killed just under an hour ago, he was killed by a prisoner that held a grudge…" He looked at Thea, looking so broken, so guilty. "I'm so sorry, Speedy."

Thea felt her legs give out from under her and realized that she hadn't fallen, that Laurel had kept her up. "Roy's gone?"

The room was silent, as Thea, Oliver, and Laurel wept in each other's arms, at the loss of one of their family members.

Just then, Felicity and Diggle walked into their apartment. Diggle looked apologetic. "Please forgive us for this?"

Just then Roy walked between them, with his hoodie raised. Thea sprung from her place in the kitchen and into Roy's arms, hugging him, and kissing him. "How?" She murmured. Resting her head on his shoulder.

"Dig had a guy, a contact of Lyla's that knows how to fake someone's death. Roy Harper is dead."

"And Oliver Queen is innocent. A free man" Felicity beamed.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Oliver looked at Laurel, and gave her a watery smile, and held her hand. He needed her to ground him. "Not for much longer. Ra's has given me the opportunity to save Thea. I'm going to fight him, in a few hours' time.

Diggle frowned. "That's why you tried to put yourself into custody?"

"Ra's gave me two options; One, give myself up to the SCPD, or two, hand over the person who killed Sara. Considering I can't do that." He said gesturing towards his sister. "I'm taking her place."

"Oliver that's suicide," Felicity said narrowing her eyes at him. "What about us? Or your son, Connor?"

Laurel squeezed his hand as she spoke. "In the event, he doesn't survive. Oliver and I have discussed the future."

"So, you are just giving up?" Felicity continued, looking at the other members of the team for assistance. "You can't stop fighting, that's not who you are!"

"I'm being realistic. Getting my affairs in order before I fight a man that has lived more than any man has, or should. A man that leads a cult of assassins, The most ruthless fighting force in human history." He then looked at Diggle, before looking at Felicity. "We're not discussing this. The arrangement has already been made." He was going to protect his sister, his family, and his city.

Considering Oliver had said his farewells already, he moved to Laurel and gave her a searing kiss, moved to Thea to peck her on the forehead, shook Diggle's and Roy's hands and giving Felicity a small embrace, whilst ensuring she didn't put a tracker on him. Afterwards, he walked out of the apartment for the final time. Forcing himself not to look back.

Roy looked down at his shoes, before looking around. "I should head off as well. I can't be seen around here." He made his rounds muttering his farewells, before walking out with Thea to his new car, where she would give him a final farewell.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Brick left the confines of his cell, and is slowly escorted to the weight room, as he opens the heavy door, he sees a number of other fellow inmates, he nods at some but continues to _his _bench, that holds the heavy bar of weights that he has been utilizing when he comes to exercise.

As he waltzed it towards the bench, every one of the inmates made way for him and stepped away from his direction. Once he makes it, he sighed sitting down at the edge of the bench and adjusts the prison jumpsuit before laying on the bench and starting his repetitions.

As he does so, another inmate stands above him to spot him while he lifts the heavyweights. After a few reps, he lowers the bar, ready to raise it once more, instead, the inmate held the bar down on him, and produced a shank.

"Snitch!" The man then stabbed Brickwell in his side.

Brick cried out, flinging the heavy bar at the inmate sending him hard to the ground. He panted, as he put pressure on the stab wound and trundled towards the now incapacitated inmate. Brick kicked the man in the face, before he picked up a heavy steel bumper plate and straddled the man, lifting the weight high above his head, and listening to the man beg, he threw the plate just away from his head, and retreated calmly away from the man, waiting for the guards.

As the sirens blared, the guardsmen ran in wielding their clubs, it reminded Brick of his former adversary. She had disappeared around the time of The Undertaking. As much as he would regret not being able to exact justice upon her. Now that she is now gone. Sure there was a rumor that she had appeared in Central City, but it was the words of people he could never trust. Lowlifes that would do anything to have him on their side to ward off potential threats, he had loftier goals that he had to return back to Starling City.

And now that The Green Arrow and his Merrymen have been made pariahs, and the man himself is now dead. No one would stand in his way from taking control of the city and taking back his position as the most powerful man in Starling. The Canary couldn't take his throne from the grave.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Laurel returned to her home after hitting the hard-bags to release some of her pent up frustrations at the world. She knocked on the door, expecting their babysitter only to her mother. The woman that only appeared once Sara came back into their lives. She hadn't visited her eldest daughter in Central City, nor Starling. She just up and disappeared for years and came back once she knew Sara was alive.

During the birth of her baby, she had asked for her mother not to come, only for Ollie to convince her that her mother deserved a second chance, and should have the opportunity to know her own grandson. Thinking of her husband made her heartache, knowing that he was marching off to his death by himself.

"Mom?"

"Hi, Sweetheart," Dinah said as she wrapped her arms around her daughter. "Connor is asleep, and feed." Laurel blinked, as her mother continued. "I paid your babysitter, what's her name? Something Dawn Granger… at any rate, I cleaned up the mess of children's toys in the living room, along with doing your son's laundry."

Laurel bit her cheek, so that she didn't say anything to her mother about imposing, nor turning up without warning, especially now of all times. "I didn't know you were coming to town?" She managed to say.

"I thought it would be a nice Christmas surprise for my family." She said with a beaming smile, "So where's Sara?" Laurel inhaled deeply, and blinked away her tears, as she relieved witnessing her sister falling down from a rooftop in front of her and Connor. Laurel moved around her mother to put down her handbag, pretending to be busy. "She's not answering my calls."

"… She's umm…Backpacking through the Andes." Laurel explained haphazardly, "I think…"

She couldn't deal with another person falling apart. She was barely doing that herself.

She looked up from her shoes to see her mother looking at her with sadness and grief. Instead of calling her out, her mother asked a different question, how was work, how she was coping after her father's death, and how was Connor.

They certainly were loaded questions and one that she didn't feel like sharing with her mother. She had been in London with her new partner, a doctor, for close to just over six years after the Gambit, and never made contact with her. She only came to Starling and the birth of her grandson because it coincidentally coincided with Sara's reappearance. She didn't even send birthday cards or Christmas cards.

"I'm fine. Works great, I married Oliver a few days ago, Connor's been full of life…"

Her mother looked at her with glassy eyes, seemingly ignoring the fact that her eldest daughter was now married, and decided to come back to Sara. It was always Sara with her Mom. "Something happened," She said, before adding. "Sara?"

It should have stung more than it did, her mother prioritizing Sara over her, over Connor. Perhaps Ollie was right last year when she said that Connor still had one grandmother who loved him unconditionally. "What?" She asked not expecting her mother to ask about Sara again so quickly. "No. No. Nothing's happened, Mom." Laurel tried to assure her.

"Don't insult my intelligence, Laurel." Her mother admonished Laurel. "It's Sara, isn't it?" Without allowing Laurel to breathe, to prepare herself, her mother continued. "When I mentioned your sister's name earlier, you seemed so broken."

Laurel shook her head. She couldn't deal with this. She had lost Jo, Tommy, Moira, her Dad, Sara, Roy and now, Ollie. Speedy was in the same boat as her. She couldn't handle seeing another person grieve.

"Sara is fine, Mom." The words felt sour to her mouth as she told the lie. "She's just being Sara."

Her mother gave her another disbelieving look. "You will find this out when Connor gets older, but there are very few things stronger and more powerful than a mother's intuition." She then sat next to Laurel on the sofa, "You're hiding something from me, Laurel. I know it."

Laurel looked down at her wedding band, spinning it around her finger until she felt her mother gently hold her hand in hers. "She's dead? My baby is gone?"

Laurel could only nod, and for a few seconds, nothing was heard besides her mother's weeping. "Mom, listen to me. Sara was involved with very dangerous people. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Sara drowned with Robert Queen."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Laurel, cradling her sleeping son in her arms followed her mother into the graveyard, instead of walking straight towards her father and sister, she laid a few flowers in front of Jo's, Tommy's, and Moira and Robert's graves before making their way to her father and sister's resting places.

Laurel knelt down in front of her father's tombstone, and rested her free hand on it, praying that he would look after Sara on the other side. She then turned and stood back up and moved a few paces behind her mother, who was kneeling in front of Sara's grave.

Without looking away from the headstone, her mother asked her if she remembered how she would play dress ups with each other when they were little. She explained that one day when they were playing, she had overheard the two of them pretending to be older versions of themselves.

Laurel smiled at the memory, Sara was a doctor, with a family, while Laurel was a cop just like Dad was, she like Sara also had kids. She bounced Connor slightly, to adjust his position on her arm. Only she had been able to see most of her dreams come true.

Was it wrong that she felt slightly guilty at the thought that Sara would never have that?

"She deserves more than this." She then looked over at her last living daughter, "You're _her _right? The Black Canary?"

Laurel blinked as it came out of left field. "Excuse me?" How did she even know?

Her mother didn't even explain, she just gave Laurel a determined commanding look, "You have to do whatever it takes to bring the person down, make them pay for what they did to your baby sister." Her mother then placed a strong hand on Laurel's free shoulder. "We always told you since you were young that it was your job to look after her, your baby sister."

Laurel gulped; Ollie was already giving up his life to protect Thea. To protect Starling and their family. Malcolm had weaseled his way into their protection with mutually assured destruction. It was more complicated than her mother would ever know. "Whoever did this will get their comeuppance." It may not be today, or tomorrow or even years from now. Malcolm will get what he deserves, especially after what he did to her two sisters. To her family.

Right now, Laurel's main priority was clutched to her chest, sleeping and then the city at large. Sara's justice would have to wait. No matter how much her mother prodded her. No matter how much she wanted to avenge her sister, or keep Ollie from giving up his life in a duel that they both knew that he wouldn't come home from.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Samandra shot up from her desk, ignoring Olsen and made her way towards her boss's office. She had just heard that people were trying to poach Brick from beneath her. As she walked into the office, both Morgan and Fischer turned their heads and grinned at her, "There she is, the woman of the hour."

She looked past them, looking at Special Agent Talos, "A moment of your time, Sir?"

The balding agent gruffly told the other two agents to leave and to close the door behind them. Once they left, he gave her a proud smile, "Good work on catching the Irish." After a second, he spoke again, I know why you are here, and I can't give you Brickwell."

"I got Brickwell Brickwell to talk. Dozens of agents tried and failed, I didn't. I can get you more criminals, Brick had his fingers in many pies."

He gave her a sympathetic look, "We got some big fish, you should be proud. In fact, I will get on the horn and let D.C. know as soon as I can."

"But?"

"Everyone and their mother will be looking at you, everything, no skeletons, no secrets."

"I have nothing to hide, Sir."

"You are a risk, Watson. Your finances are a cause for concern; it makes you an easy mark."

"That's bullcrap! When you call D.C. to tell that nothing would have happened if it wasn't for the unexpected connection between myself and Brickwell." She then looked at Agent Talos with pleading eyes, "Please, Francis. How else am I supposed to get out of the red?"

"Fine. Brickwell's yours. But you need to keep that Englishman talking, Sam."

Samandra beamed at her former mentor, he had given her a lifeline, something to not just ensure that the brother was well looked after, but also to put a name out of herself in the annals of the FBI. "I got this, I won't let you down, Boss."

"He had better keep talking for years. If he goes silent, it won't just be your neck at stake, I'm putting a lot of faith in you, don't let me down, Sam."

Samandra rushed out the door to get ready for her new duty as Brickwell's handler.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Oliver finally made it to the summit of the icy mountain. He turned to look at the sublime view, before turning around, ignoring the biting cold winds and walking towards Ra's, Nyssa, Maseo and the rest of the League that were there to bear witness.

He dropped his pack, at the strange runic circle, walking towards the center.

"Remove your shirt," Maseo commanded as he walked towards his old friend. "This is custom, to show the first blood." Oliver said nothing and followed the command, and refraining from shivering at the bone-chilling winds, "Ra's Al Ghul is not known to be merciful." He then lowered his voice, reminding Oliver that there was still his old friend beneath the glamour of Sarab, even if it were for a moment. "You may still have a chance at mercy if you were to chance it now."

Oliver removed his shirt, "I am here to fight." As he moved his arms, they felt like jelly, but he had to force through the discomfort and fatigue, his family depended on him.

His old friend and mentor sighed in defeat, as he took Oliver's shirt and jacket. "Choose your weapon," Maseo said. Oliver noticed that it was no longer Maseo talking, but Sarab, Ra's' horseman.

Oliver moved over to the array of swords and selected two. As he did, he heard The Demon's Head speak to him, albeit the older man had not turned to face him. "I was but a child when I killed my first man." He continued to explain that he could still recall the look of his face as he died. "I had stolen the most precious thing any man or woman has; life. And yet, I felt something. Pride. Because I had taken up arms against someone who sought to do ill against my family. I realized what I did was necessary."

Oliver remained silent; he could understand the sentiment. So much so that he realized that I mirrored him right now. Taking up arms for his family. For Thea, Laurel, and Connor.

"You see, boy. I had replaced evil with death. And that, son, is the sole reason the League exists. You and your comrades battle evil, not unlike we do. Only instead of ending the skirmish in death, you try to suffocate it, starve it. Lock it behind bars. Allow the evil to become stronger, to regroup. There is only one way to end evil, boy." Ra's moved towards him, with an almost regal aura, "I have killed thousands since then, and no doubt more to blood will taste my blade and the world is a better place for it."

"You're reign of death ends today"

Ra's gave a small amused snort, "No. You have lived your last day." He then looked between the two men, "We are ready."

Nyssa walked past him, her voice almost but a whisper, "I am envious of you, you will see her before I do."

"Now, fight me, boy." Ra's commanded.

"You are unarmed." It wasn't that he was opposed to Ra's being without a weapon, he just didn't want some sort of clause in The League's laws to bite him down the line, in the very minuscule possibility he came out of this fight alive. He internally smiled, at Laurel's legal mind, rubbing off on him.

Ra's sniffed. "Not to worry, I will pick up yours once you no longer have need of the blades." After a beat, Ra's immediately and without warning delivered a knife-blade strike to Oliver's neck.

Oliver groaned, gritting his teeth, sent violent swing after swing towards the Demon's Head, who elegantly danced around the blades, it was almost uncanny how the master assassin evaded each strike of the sword.

While Oliver was rusty with swordsmanship, it certainly wasn't his first-time wielding nor utilizing them. He, after all, was trained by Slade who loved his swords. They had spent a long while getting used to the weight of the blades, unfortunately, the weight and blade alignment with these swords were much different from the swords that ASIS provided Slade whilst on Lian Yu.

Oliver accidentally overextended himself due to the odd feeling of weight in the blades, and or his own fatigue from climbing up the rockface. Ra's sent a blow to his liver. Oliver swore as he forced himself not to keel over from the blinding pain. It felt like the air in his lungs was ripped out of his chest.

Oliver stood back up, running at the master assassin, only to be easily evaded. Oliver spun on his heel and sent another few violent strikes, each was blocked easily by the master assassin before the man grabbed Oliver by the wrist.

The next thing Oliver felt was the excruciating pain of his wrist being pulled the wrong way, followed by the sound of his bones breaking.

Ra's snatched the sword from Oliver's broken hand, before kicking him into the snow. Before Oliver could move, Ra's lunged sending the blade easily through Oliver's sternum, and out through his back.

Oliver could only blink. He could just make out some form of prayer from Ra's as he stood over him. Oliver's mind flashed to everyone important in his life. In front of him, he could see his Dad looking at him with pride, His mother, Tommy, Sara, and Quintin.

His mind then moved towards Family; Seeing Thea after he had returned from his five years in hell, how she whispered that she had missed him so much, watching Laurel assure Thea that their case would work out, and seeing her face when they first looked at each other.

Finding out the truth about Laurel and Thea, how they had saved him, someone that by all rights should have thought of as their enemy.

The Birth of Connor, his impromptu elopement with Laurel. God, he wished that he could have given Laurel the wedding that she deserved… "I'm sorry Laurel…" He tried to say before everything went dark around him before he felt nothing.

Ra's stood over the body of Oliver Queen, "Check if he still breathes." It was the custom of The League to see if the fallen enemy had survived the blade of Ra's if he did, the man had the potential to be a possible successor, if not a horseman.

The boy had lasted longer than most.

Sarab moved slowly to the body of his old friend, and presented his forefinger and middle finger against his carotid artery, feeling nothing. "Oliver Queen has fallen to your sword."

"Very well. Have the remains taken to Nanda Parbat, there we shall remove what is left of Mr. Queen and ensure that Al Sah-Him is born." He would mold Al Sah-Him to his will, and create a worthy successor that had not been infected by an outsider as his youngest had been.


	11. Midnight CIty

Samandra made her way through Iron Heights, as she did, she pinned the visitor badge onto her chest, and continued moving until she found Daniel Brickwell's cell. She walked in and saw the large man resting on his bed. "How are you? The medics told me it was superficial."

"On the contrary, I found it quite traumatizing, Agent Watson."

"This isn't a game, Mr. Brickwell." The agent said, scowling at the prisoner.

"I couldn't agree more, It's of the utmost importance to me, Special Agent."

Samandra looked around the small cell before casting her eyes on her very own Criminal Informant. "What? Some prisoner with a shank?"

"I didn't intend on beating around the bush, Agent. I honestly fear a great deal. I'm a father, and once the word is out that I am the informer for your agency. Every man and his dog within these walls, know that I am cooperating with you, Agent."

"You will continue to give us worthwhile information, Mr. Brickwell. This was not a one-off. You want us to continue ensuring that your son is safe and sound? And you want the possibility of seeing your son again? Then you have to cooperate with us."

Brick exhaled through his nose audibly, "These walls are not just to protect everyone beyond them, they are to protect everyone inside as well. Criminals and guards alike. In assisting you and The Bureau these walls are no longer doing their job. Whilst I am here, I have a target on my back." Noticing Agent Watson's dour look, he continued, looking at her imploringly. "I am helping you help my son. There is no more of a noble cause than to protect an innocent child. It's impossible to that if I am six-feet under."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Malcolm walked up the mountain, hearing the crunch of snow cracking beneath his boots. As he held the lantern lazily in his hands, he eventually made it to the summit. There he saw the blade that Ra's had used to slay Oliver Queen, dark red blood pooled around the blade.

Oliver was a boy that he had watched grow into a man, a man that had given his life for his baby sister. He always put his family first, he was so much like Moira in that regard, and thus easy to manipulate. Though unlike Tommy, Oliver had made something of himself before he died.

Merlyn looked down the side off the cliff face and didn't see Oliver's remains below. He supposed that the wolves or other scavengers would have already found the body. He dislodged the blade from the stone, and made his way back down the mountain, and back to civilization.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Agent Samandra Watson was getting irritated at the bureaucracy of the job. She needed to get Brickwell out of prison not for his sake, but for her brother's. Georgie needed that money that came with a promotion so that he could be looked after by professionals.

The bickering between Agent Talos and The U.S Marshal's office, and the district attorney. They wanted Brickwell to be housed in a safe location that was heavily monitored, The Marshals were telling them asinine arguments spouting that the precedent was that this was a luxury for white-collar criminals, less dangerous felons. Not someone as dangerous as the man that almost brought Starling to its knees.

Did they not realize that they had Brickwell by the short and curlies? And that by giving Brickwell some comforts they would be arresting hundreds of criminals, some that would usually fall beneath their radar, or ones that they have been hunting for years. It was a concession they had to make to ensure everyone wins. It was the lesser evil.

"Brickwell is a dirtbag, no one is denying that. But let's talk about the Irish for a moment, hmm?" Watson paused for effect. "Two dead SCPD officers, another dozen or so are now desk jockeys due to their injuries. Over a hundred civilian murders tied to them across the country including; National City, Elmond and Evergreen City all committed in just under a decade; six task forces, the vigilantes in Starling, eleven million dollars, we had nothing on them. Not until Brickwell."

She then went on to explain with the intel that Daniel Brickwell provided them, that they had dismantled the Irish Mob in a day, with no injuries to the public, nor the policemen. It was a clean job. He was the key to them dealing a massive blow to the criminal underworld.

"I can keep him talking, gentlemen. This deal will save many innocent lives."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Brick sat in the armored sedan as the convoy rolled down the dark streets of Starling City, he watched as his city illuminated in the darkness. He was finally home. And there was no Canary to deal with. He had endured while the pretty little bird had withered away, before finally disappearing into obscurity. She had won the battle, but in the end, he had won the war.

The voice of Agent Watson broke him from his revelry. "I want this to be crystal clear, Mr. Brickwell. You will be monitored every minute of the day by myself and my team of agents." She then listed off her demands, demands that he would accommodate for now. Not taking off his chafing ankle monitor, not leaving the boundaries they have set, will have to adhere to their schedule as they see fit. "Do you understand?"

"Perfectly, Agent Watson. You will not have any quarrels with me. I am doing this for my son, and for this city, for this great nation. There is nothing a parent won't do for their child. I had become a criminal for him, and now… and now, I realize that I was misguided. If staying in your shackles will protect my boy, and everyone else in this city then I will endure."

A loud _crack _and a warm amber glow illuminated the area before disappearing and repairing with each shot. Brick looked over his shoulder, as he was slammed against the side of the car door, from the sudden turn to avoid the explosion.

He could hear his heart _thumping_ in his chest.

The Canary of Starling City may have perished in The Glades she coveted due to the machinations of Malcolm Merlyn and Tempest, but she had allies, a support network. The Green Arrow followed Black Canary to the grave when he was imprisoned. All that remained where; Speedy, and Arsenal. Judging by the news lately, the two archers should be wary about running around the city in their tight leather suits.

A second explosion followed a few seconds later that catapulted the armored car into the air.

Brick blinked, and groaned from the impact and being suspended from the seat, "Bloody Hell!" He groaned. The Englishman struggled with the cuffs that the FBI had bolted into the car rendering him barely able to move. "Watson!" He hollered out to his handler. "Watson!?" He bellowed, through his dry throat.

The silence was all that answered him.

He looked around for a way to escape this madness. He managed to undo his seatbelt, and crashed to the floor, though his hands remained awkwardly held in the air by his chains. He panted and looked around after hearing the cracks of gunfire, this wasn't vigilantes, he realized. No, this was an ambush set up by the Irish.

He grabbed the chains suspending his arms, and used his legs to leverage himself as he pulled using all his mass to give himself freedom, a fighting chance against the Potato lovers. The car ground from his weight until finally the anchor buckled and fell to the ground.

He crawled to the window to watch the FBI agents shooting into the smoke. One by one the agents were shot and fell to the ground, unmoving. A few beats later, a handful of silhouettes marched out of the smoke, their guns raised.

He could hear the men speaking Gaelic. He lowered his body to make it harder for the Irishmen to spot him, it was all fought naught, as one of the men knelt down to the window and spotted him. The mobster stood back and peppered bullets at the bulletproof glass.

The next thing he heard was the whirling of a metal grinder. He felt his perspiration drip down his nose. He had to make all this worth it somehow. Sparks fluttered around the door.

A small crack was heard, followed by another. Until the grinder had stopped whirling. He watched as several more men fell to the ground, bullet holes in their heads.

The next sound he heard was a scream, a high-pitched scream. He looked out the window to see an FBI agent use a similar scream to that of his former adversary. The pitch was slightly different though however, he supposed anything was now possible due to the public blunder that STAR Labs committed a year ago.

Brick kicked out the cracked window and managed to crawl out of the car, to see his savior. With dark hair and eyes. He raised his hands and pleaded for the agent not to shoot. "Don't shoot! I'm unarmed and had nothing to do with this anarchy."

The female agent turned to him, aiming her pistol at him, "Convict. Don't move a muscle, I'm Agent Siobhan Smythe."

Brick raised his hands in surrender, as he heard the sound of police sirens in the distance.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

What remained of the team, were in secondary Bunker. Diggle stood up from his seat looking at Laurel, "With Oliver gone, it will only be a matter of time until criminals realize that there is no Green Arrow to stop them. The SCPD, are too busy hunting down vigilantes, and keeping their heads following the FBI raids, and their inquisition. And no offense to Thea, but Starling needs someone who already has a reputation. Their own reputation. If it were just Thea and Roy, maybe we could deal, but not with The League, criminal and the cops. Oliver is gone just like Sara."

It was the unfortunate truth, that both Arsenal and Speedy were inherently linked to both Green Arrow and Black Canary. And didn't hold as much clout as the other two vigilantes.

"Thanks for reminding me."

Diggle sighed, as he wiped his face, "No, Laurel, that isn't what I meant. We need the Black Canary back, criminals fear her, and the people respect her. Starling _needs _her Canary."

"That's a nice sentiment," Malcolm said as he strode towards them. "I, however, have rather melancholic news, The League conducts ceremonial events, such as duels on hallowed ground. I went there," He then gently placed down a bloody one-handed sword onto the closest bench to him.

Diggle watched as all three women paled, he noted how Thea's hand instinctively grasped onto Laurel's forearm for dear life, as if the sole act of holding her sister-in-law was enough to keep her grounded and remind her that all this was real.

"I found this." He said solemnly, avoiding eye contact with every person in the room. "It is the custom of every Ra's, to leave behind the instrument of death, to ensure that the spirit of the deceased does not become vengeful."

Diggle failed to swallow, as his mouth and throat became dry, "Merlyn did you see Oliver's body?"

"His body fell into a ravine, his remains were unrecoverable, I'm afraid."

"How do we know that this is Oliver's blood?"

Malcolm hesitated before he looked towards Laurel and Thea with an almost regretful look. "Because I know what it is like losing my significant other in such a violent matter. I wouldn't lie about that." He then cast his gaze back to Diggle and Felicity, "Doubtless, you will test the blood, and find yourself with the inescapable truth that Oliver Queen is dead."

Thea glared at her biological father, "He's dead because of you!" She growled.

"He bowed his head, "I'm sorry for your loss, Thea, Laurel.I…."

The next thing Laurel knew, was that she had wrapped her hands around Malcolm's throat, pinning him against the table. The man that she knew growing up, Tommy's father…Thea's biological father was gasping for his breath.

She clenched her jaw, snarling at the man who had destroyed her world. How was she going to explain to her son that his father had gone off to die? That Connor's own Aunt Thea had been brain-controlled to kill his maternal aunt? It was so bizarre that she doubts she would have believed it if she had heard it from someone else.

She barely noticed him trying to get out of her grip, or hitting her arm in an attempt to stop her from strangling Malcolm. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see one of Thea's arrows, in her arm's reach. It would be so easy to just reach over and drive the missile into his chest, and make him feel what Sara felt, what Oliver felt when he fought Ra's in a no-win scenario. The question was, did she have what it took to take this bastard's life for real this time?

The next thing she felt was Diggle shoving her away from a purple-faced Malcolm, followed by telling the man to leave and never return. His heart thumped from the adrenaline, but she couldn't help but feel more than a slither of pride at Malcolm's bright red neck that sat just above the scar tissue that she had given him years almost four years ago.

She shirked from Diggle's grasp, waving her hands out that she had calmed down, as she walked over to the heavy bags. She couldn't go home to Connie with this rage clutching at her heart. She never wanted her son to ever see her this angry.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Laurel tucked her son into bed and kissed his forehead. His little hands playing with her long honey blonde hair. She stifled a sob, as she gently brushed her fingers on her son's cheek. Connor would never know his father.

And now that she was being pushed by both the team and the world to protect Starling, there was a very real chance that once night, she just may never come home. "Mommy loves you, Connie. And Daddy will watch over you, and will be proud of you as you grow up sweety." Her eyes stung, as he slowly drifted off to sleep. "Daddy is with both of your Grandpas, Robert and Quintin, your Grandma Moira and your Aunt Sara. And they all love you like Mommy and Aunt Thea, and Uncle Roy."

She kissed her son for a final time, feeling her eyes sting "No matter what happens, Connie, I love you. And I realize that you are too young to understand, but I need you to know that, or to hear it." She needed to say the words to her son.

It was at that moment, she felt like she could just hear a small rhythmic beat. It wasn't long before she realized that it was her son's heart. Caitlin had once hypothesized that her powers had lain dormant until she reached high stress and anxiety. Perhaps, she was slowly quiring a new enhanced addition from her mutated cells? Just another thing to add to her ever-growing list of things to do.

"I have to go, sweetie. I love you." As she walked out of her son's room she looked at Dawn, her son's babysitter. "All set, look after Connie for me."

"Sure thing, Ms. Lance."

"It's Mrs. Queen." Laurel corrected, even though she and Ollie didn't have a marriage certificate, in their hearts before he left, they had been married in their hearts. Laurel then heard the babysitter stammer to correct herself, and congratulate Laurel as the older woman walked out of the apartment. Why did she always have to save the world? that wasn't fair, she was doing this for Connor, to keep him safe.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Black Canary and Speedy stood together on a rooftop overlooking the dark alley below. They watched as two cars pulled up, once the cars came to a halt, and the men climbed the vehicles, she saw one group pop open their car trunk, and violently dragged a young red-haired girl that couldn't have been much older than sixteen. The Girl had a nasty purple welt around her eye, a black and blue ring on her otherwise, porcelain white skin. While the girl was being dragged by the scruff of her neck, the gag in her mouth became visible.

_"I'm in position, overlooking the south alley."_ Diggle's voice came from the comms.

"Roger that," Speedy said before she looked over at her sister-in-law. "In spite of… How does it feel being back in black?" She asked carefully, eyeing her sister.

Laurel didn't look at Speedy, her eyes remained glued on the illicit activity below, "This isn't how I envisioned myself returning back to the fight."

It was left unsaid, as to why. It didn't need to be said, that she envisioned Oliver and Roy fighting alongside them.

"Have you heard about the FBI convoy that was blown up?" One of the guards nonchalantly asked the other, "Apparently, Brick was in there. The FBI let Daniel Brickwell out of prison."

"Laur—Canary ... wait!"

Before Speedy could caution patience, Black Canary jumped down onto the roof of the car, knocking out one by colliding her baton to his head, she, out of the corner of her eye watched as Speedy took out the majority of the drug and arms peddlers, and made her way to the victim, who undoubtedly would have been sold into sexual servitude, it was at that moment, she grabbed one of the thugs by the scruff of his jacket and dragged him into an adjacent alley.

She pulled out one of her bolas, and wrapped it around the man's neck, she heard him choke and wheeze as she pulled the cords tighter around his neck, hearing the man gurgle and gasp for air that wouldn't come, "I'm going to make this really simple. You will answer my questions, or shit is going to get dark over here for you."

"Who are you?" He managed to rasp out.

"Not important right now," She sneered tightening the cords of her bolas around his neck. All of a sudden, she heard a slight rhythmic thumping, as if she could just make out his heart beating. The Canary ignored it, as she continued holding the cord tight around his throat.

"The Canary of Starling City? … A dead woman reborn?" He rasped as he fumbled with the good around his neck in a feeble attempt to lessen the cord from around his neck to be able to breathe.

"Was it Brick who was in the convoy?"

He gasped for air, as Black Canary pulled him back firmly with the bolas. "Yes…FBI's payroll."

She maintained a tight grip on the bolas, as her mind raced. Brick was back. It was at that moments, Laurel recalled the threat that Brick had made her. The bastard had promised that everyone she ever loved would be a target. She couldn't even hide in plain sight under the guise of Dinah Laurel Lance, a recently widowed woman, an attorney and a single mother of one.

_'Focus on the things that you have, that you can change…' Ted's voice echoed in her mind. _

The whole life she built in Starling after returning home was falling apart, piece by piece, and Brick would be the final person to dismantle her life if he had his way. She had to get to him first!

Speedy and a masked Diggle walked down towards her, he spoke to her with a commanding voice, "Canary, Enough!" Instead of complying with Diggle's command she pulled harder before stepped away watching the thug slump hard to the floor, unmoving.

Diggle glared at her from beneath his ski-mask, "Get out of here!" He growled as she walked back brushing her hair back with her fingers, breathing heavily. Speedy knelt down to the unmoving body, Diggle's eyes didn't leave Laurel's as he spoke to the other vigilante, "Is he dead?"

Speedy shook her head, "No, passed out, and likely a concussion from landing on his head." She said as she watched Laurel disappear from the scene without checking that the girl that they had saved was safe and unharmed.

"She was reckless, and once word gets out about how violent and dangerous Black Canary is, we will be back at square one, being hunted by the cops. Laurel was our only hope of staying on top of protecting the city, and stopping The League." He muttered darkly. "I'll tell Felicity to keep an eye on her while we return to the base. She can't go around trying to kill people."

Thea walked slowly back to the van, she hadn't seen Laurel so reckless, and violent. It reminded her of her brother when he was The Hood. Ollie had told her that she was doing better since she spoke to Ted, and maybe she was for a time, but life didn't seem to be done with screwing with Laurel. Thea prayed that she could help Laurel before she continued to sink further into the abyss that she was finding herself in. It was as if Laurel was slowly disappearing, and using The Black Canary as her armor, to protect herself and her son from the world.


	12. Lines Drawn In The Sand

**A/N- A Special thanks to Highlander348 for helping me with this chapter, this was the first scene I wrote for this fic, back when I was close to completing Starling City's Finest.**

Laurel had arrived in The Bunker before everyone else got back in, and she ignored the glare from Felicity as she quickly started throwing jabs at the double-end bag in the gym area. After about ten minutes, Felicity and Digg approached her.

They hadn't wanted her to go back out in the field. Not until they realized that she was the only hope to keep the city safe in spite of the fact that these two claimed a numerous amount of excuses from; Her not being in the field for over a year, and that she had only gone out into the field when Oliver took her to Central City.

The next reason they cited was that she hadn't worked alongside their team, and thus would ruin the group cohesion and dynamic. And the one reason that really pissed her off the most was that they claimed that her fighting alongside them is something that Oliver would hate because she would be risking making _Oliver's _son an orphan.

_His son. _Not hers, or theirs. Connor was only Oliver's child in their eyes.

She released an audible breath, reading herself for their onslaught. They didn't seem to grasp the fact that she had lost virtually everyone in her life since she became Black Canary; Jo, Tommy, Moira, her Father, Sara and now Roy and Oliver. All she had left was Connie and Speedy.

She was brought out of her thoughts as Felicity stood a few feet from her, with Diggle standing behind her with his arms folded.

_A United Front. _

She would laugh at the scene of a hacker with no combat experience and a trained soldier against a trained enhanced individual. If she was a betting woman, she would take those odds. Fight John and keep an eye out for Felicity and prevent her from getting a weapon. A weapon could make anyone dangerous. There is a reason why people call them equalizers.

"Have you completely lost your mind!?" Felicity asked, with a large judgmental scowl painted across her face.

Laurel shrugged. She had heard whispers of Daniel Brickwell being released. She had to ascertain if her baby was safe. Speedy could take care of herself, she had been trained by Ted, Herself, and Oliver.

But, Connor, her Connie was still a baby. _Her_ baby. Her son couldn't fend for himself, and if Brick were to find out who Black Canary was behind her mask, her baby boy would be Brick's first target. She employed stronger, more forceful measures than what she had used when she first met Diggle and Felicity before she trained Thea.

She wrapped a pair of bolas around a thug's neck and choked him until he gave her the answers she needed on Brickwell. She didn't enjoy it, that didn't change the fact that what she did was a necessary evil.

She was starting to get the impression that John and Felicity didn't seem to grasp that while The League was a threat, they were not the most pressing issue and Brickwell would eat the city from within. He would flank the city while everyone was looking at The League.

Thea stepped in between her sister and Felicity in an attempt to play the mediator. "We have all been under stress especially after Ollie…" Thea couldn't finish her sentence. It hurt too much that her brother was willing to offer himself up as a scapegoat instead of her, all because Malcolm had drugged her and had her kill Sara.

Thea knew that while she felt guilty, and was hurting, Laurel definitely felt worse. In the span of three years, she had lost too many people close to her; first Jo, Tommy, Quentin, then Sara, Roy and now Ollie. She had lost her husband and the father to her child. And now to find out that one of the most ruthless and implacable enemies that have tried to make a stake for the city.

She felt it was her obligation to defend Laurel, her sister in all but name, a woman that was to be her sister-in-law in a few months. She knew better than anyone bar Laurel that Brick was a threat, but it was the least she could do after killing Sara, and indirectly sending Oliver to his death.

"This isn't about how much she has endured, we have all been mourning for Sara and Oliver. This is about how Laurel conducted herself in the field."

"Back off!" She growled, which caused both Felicity and Diggle to take a step back. "Laurel has been under a lot of stress…"

Laurel patted her sister on the shoulder and shook her head, silencing her argument in her throat. "I'm fine, Speedy." She said dismissing the defense her sister was preparing. The curl of her lip was inching up, to someone that didn't know Laurel, it looked as if it were a snide smirk, instead, it was Laurel putting up a front of indifference, and strength. Laurel was trying to look more callous than she truly was, and only someone that truly knew Laurel would see it.

Laurel's face softened as she looked towards Thea. Meanwhile, Laurel could barely keep her head afloat. She would do everything in her power to prevent losing someone else to it. She would protect Thea and Connie from Brickwell.

Diggle shook his head. "You tortured a guy, Laurel! On the night you were supposed to make a grand return as The Black Canary, a symbol of hope, now that Oliver is gone, a way to restore trust in Speedy in vigilantes. Reconstitute The Birds of Prey. The League is a more insidious enemy than some washed-out criminal kingpin. You shamed us, Laurel! Do you have any notion of how that paints us as vigilantes? Especially after Ra's had framed your husband?"

His unspoken words were clear in her mind. That she was a hypocrite and that Oliver would be disappointed in her. He might very well be, but perhaps Oliver was right when he came back from Lian Yu the first time. That, sometimes, there are people in this world who deal only in extremes. It was naive to think that anything less than extreme measures would stop them.

Brickwell was one of those that dealt with absolutes. She would do whatever it took to bring him down. She would do everything in her power to stop Brick from harming her baby boy, and the rest of her family, and nothing and no one would stand in her way.

She could prevent him from harming her family. She doubted that this was what Ted had in mind, but it made sense to her.

"I gave an evil man justice, got valuable intel and verified a threat that right now is more pressing than The League. The League, the blood debt was settled if Ra's or Oliver… Ra's has honor, even Malcolm has attested to that." Even if she knew that she could only take Malcolm's words with a grain of salt. "Daniel Brickwell will corrupt everything and anyone that will benefit him. He is the man we should set our sights for!"

Felicity shook her head. Laurel realized it was because they were ignorant of the threat he possessed. They had only dealt with small-time drug dealers, thugs, and maniacs like Merlyn, Slade and now Ra's. They had never faced someone like Brick.

That she hadn't truly earned her stripes when she defeated him and dismantled his cabal almost four years ago. Or perhaps they simply thought she was losing her mind due to grief?

"Laurel," Felicity said harshly, squaring her shoulders. "The League is the main threat; one that requires all hands on deck. It's a chance to get Oliver back to us. He's not dead, I can feel it. He must be hiding, imprisoned or had been brainwashed by Ra's or something, Ra's faked his death and holding him to ransom." She then shook her head when Laurel refused to back down to see reason. "If you can't see that Ra's and his death cult are the more of a dangerous threat than some mobster, Oliver would be disappointed in your lack of faith in him, and his mission."

The mission she started. Not Oliver. She had been fighting and bleeding for Starling long before Oliver returned from Russia. Before Felicity and John ever dreamed of joining the fight to save their city.

Laurel clenched her fist, she had started protecting this city before anyone else when the police couldn't due to their corruption, by the very man that was going to start the cycle again.

Daniel Brickwell.

"The bastard deserved what he got; do you disagree?" Only Thea gave a small gesture of agreement.

"Laurel," Thea said softly, rubbing Laurel's forearm gently. "He may have deserved it, but you crossed the line, especially considering the climate that we are finding ourselves in, thanks to Ra's. We needed you to show everyone that we are more than criminals. That their Guardian Angel had returned to them in their hour of need."

Laurel had to grant her that, she may have been too enthusiastic at the wrong time. "Perhaps, but it was the only way to get intel. Computers, hacking and phone tapping, none of that works. Brick is too smart for that. And I know him better than anyone."

Diggle frowned as he looked at the woman that had married his best friend, his brother in arms. The woman that bore his brother's child. He couldn't help but feel pity for her. She had lost her family and friends and now it was just her and Connor.

And now Laurel was jumping at shadows, seeing threats where there weren't any, all in an attempt at protecting her child, not unlike a mother bear or lioness protecting her cub. He couldn't say that he wouldn't feel the same if Lyla was killed by an ancient assassin's guild. But unlike the woman in front of him, and Oliver, he knew how to avoid having a blindspot for people.

Laurel was lost and grieving, and it was obvious that she needed a break to look after herself and Connor.

"It might be better for you, Laurel, to hang up the mask, indefinitely, Laurel. Take a vacation with Connor. Go to Tahiti, Crete, Cape Verde or another tropical island paradise to recuperate and regroup. Once things have settled down, and we bring Oliver home..." He then placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "And we will." He assured her, before Laurel shirked off his hand, causing her friend's frown to set in. "We can discuss your continued involvement in Oliver's crusade."

Felicity nodded in agreement. "We should distance our operations from the Black Canary. With Captain Pike seeing you as your father had initially seen The Hood as due to the stunt you pulled tonight and Ra's throwing your husband's good works into the mud."

Laurel had drawn the line in the sand, and so had they, with neither side willing to concede. She knew that she could never convince them of the threat that Brick posed. They closed ranks, kicking her to the curb.

She was useful until she wasn't.

Laurel blew out a breath that she didn't know she was holding before she gave a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. It was back to how it had been back on day one when she returned home after being away from training under Ted and studying to become a lawyer.

Laurel would take down Brick herself. She would protect her family from any more loss. She couldn't lose Connor or Thea. She wouldn't.

Laurel walked past a shocked Thea and walked up the stairs. As she did so, she felt someone grab her arm gently. She didn't need to turn her head to know who it was. Thea. Her baby sister, who had red teary eyes.

"Laurel, don't do anything rash, we can still work things out. Together we can convince them that Brick is a threat. Ignore them, they don't know him or saw what he had been responsible for. Think of Connor. Please." Thea practically begged Laurel couldn't even remember the last time her baby sister had even begged.

Connor.

This wasn't how it was meant to be. She never wanted to leave her baby. The guilt rose from the pit of her stomach, she had to go after Brick to keep him safe. And to do that, she would not be able to apologize to him, to say goodbye, in case this was the end.

She felt tears travel down her cheek. Oliver had once claimed that he himself was cursed because everyone around him died or was hurt. The sad truth was that she, not him, was cursed. And she would die before she let her baby get hurt or worse. And the only way she could protect her son was to not be a part of his life, at least until Brick was dealt with.

Laurel gulped before speaking to her sister, "I doubt that." She said, as she gently wiped the tear from her sister's cheek. The poor girl was still overcoming the guilt over killing Sara, and now Laurel was to thrust the most important thing she has ever done, to her. Nothing she did was right, _if _she had killed Malcolm, killed Brick when she had the chance none of this would have come to pass.

Thea persisted, ignoring her sister's dejected tone and rejection, "I will come by your place tonight or Ted's gym? We can work this out as a family," Thea hiccuped before she spoke again, "As The Birds of Prey and if the worst comes to worst... We can even bring in Ted?"

Laurel opened the heavy door in front of her and gave her sister a rueful smile. "You're sweet, Speedy. But I'm already gone." She had to protect Connor, and the only way to do that was to separate herself from her family. Out of sight, out of mind. If she were to go on the offensive, Brick would be having his sights on The Canary and not Laurel Lance and her family.

This was her fight.

Laurel swallowed hard. "I would rather die as The Canary than live as Laurel Lance." Laurel Lance was going to disappear into obscurity, all that would be left was the Black Canary faceless woman attracting all of Brick's ire on her instead of on Connor. Laurel then cupped Thea's cheek, praying that her sister in all but name would understand that she had to do this to take down Brick without putting Connor in Brick's cross-hairs. That as much as she would loathe the idea of leaving her son an orphan, it was more preferable to the alternative. Burying her child. "Look after Connie, for me. And tell him that his Mommy and Daddy love him very much, the sitter has already been paid." Laurel then wrapped her arms around Thea. "You are my baby sister and I love you."

"I love you too, Laurel." Thea managed to croak out as she returned the hug.

Laurel had no delusions about what she may have to do, or that what she had to do was more than likely a suicide mission. She almost died when she faced Brick last time, but she had to do whatever it took to protect Connor and Thea. To protect her city.

Before Laurel could open the door, Diggle grabbed her arm. He snuck up on her while she was busy saying goodbye to Thea. "Where are you going, Laurel?" His grip tightened on her forearm.

"I'm going to do what is necessary without you."

Diggle tried to pull her away from the door, only for Laurel to send out her leg, kicking Diggle in the stomach, and pulled her arm from his grip, "I told you who the real threat is, you didn't believe me. This is just how it has to be, stay out of my way." Having spoken her part, she left the Bunker.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

After Laurel had left, Thea watched Laurel leave through teary eyes before she raced back down the stairs towards her two teammates who had ganged up on her sister. "What the hell was that? She is going through at least ten different kinds of hell and you kick her while she's down?"

She was so pissed off. Had they forgotten about the damage that the monster had caused? He had directly caused The Turf Wars, which led to many lives being lost or injured, and his corruption that infested the judicial system and the government, including at least one senator.

Daniel Brickwell had previously aligned himself with Tempest and, by extension, helped Malcolm who leveled a portion of The Glades.

"She's unhinged, and needs to be reminded of the realities of what is happening! You saw what she did to John! She attacked him!" Felicity answered. "She could have killed that man earlier. She was strangling him!"

Thea glared at the blonde woman, "Laurel isn't insane or deluded by grief, She's trying to protect her family! Her baby boy, who will be in Brick's sight if he finds out that Laurel is The Black Canary"

Diggle cleared his throat, his hand still resting above his tender abdomen. "She's not gonna give this up, is she?"

Thea shook her head and blinked away her tears. "She's given up on everything. Her life. She said that she would rather die as The Black Canary than live as Laurel Lance."

Diggle paled. He never expected Laurel to abandon her life, especially now that she was a mother, potentially a single mother at that. He could never envision himself abandoning baby Sara if Lyla was taken from him. He always thought that Oliver and Laurel were on the same page as him, and Lyla.

Her bullheadedness that Oliver seemed to admire in the woman was going to get her and her family killed. Maybe he should have warned Oliver about having a relationship with someone in the same dangerous field? If he did, Oliver's child may not be in the predicament that the infant now found himself in.

Felicity ran to the command center and pulled up the surveillance footage to see Laurel purposely walk in front of a slow-moving car and hit by the vehicle. The force sent the grief-stricken woman to the ground. Laurel then haphazardly rose to her feet waving off the driver and limped off into the darkness. "She left sight of the camera before it was possible to track her, with her limp and different haircut."

"Why?"

"Technology isn't a one-stop solution to everything, try as I might, I'm still limited by hardware and software. It's not like I can whip up a program that tracks someone's DNA, I'm good but not that good."

A few minutes later, Thea heard an alert on her phone, she picked it up to see that someone had sent her an encrypted email from an anonymous sender. She opened the email and played the video attachment.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

**Flashback, a few weeks after Moira Queen's funeral.**

Laurel and Oliver sat on the sofa in the mansion, it wouldn't be long until they would have to put the mansion up for sale, as without control of Queen Consolidated, they couldn't afford to pay the staff, utilities and any other things that would cost an extraordinary amount of money. Another reason why neither of the Queen siblings nor Laurel wanted to live in the mansion that they grew up in, was because living in a castle above the rest of the city, was not the image they wanted to project.

They were the same as them and wanted to help the city, and they couldn't do that from the mansion. It also distanced themselves from their mother's actions with The Undertaking and provided them with a way to let the ghosts of their parents rest.

Thea and Roy had opted to babysit Connor for the evening, while she and Oliver were supposed to be packing. Instead, they had planned on making a video message for Connor in case something happened to them. In their line of work, it was an inevitability rather than an issuance policy.

In the same vein, Laurel drafted both hers and Ollie's wills to ensure that Connor was safe if the worst should happen. Thea, Connor's closest living relative, and godmother would be given guardianship. If she was not able, then the guardianship of Connor was to go to either her father, Roy or Ted.

Oliver put the laptop on the coffee table and sat next to his fiancée on the couch. They awkwardly looked at each other before Oliver said, "You ready?"

She exhaled. "No, but it needs to be done." She pressed the space-bar to start recording. She waved at the camera. "Hi, Connie, It's Mom and Dad." Her voice cracked, and she soon felt Oliver's hand wrapped around her waist. She calmed at the feel of his warm embrace.

Oliver gave a sad smile, "I hope you are well, safe and feel loved by your Aunt Thea." He felt Laurel, leaning her head in the nape of his neck, trying valiantly not to cry. "There is something that you need to know, something that we wanted to tell you."

Laurel wiped her eyes and sat up a little to look at the camera. "We love you, Connie. Even if neither of us or only one of us, get to witness you grow up into a strong, intelligent young man. A person that either would be proud of."

"We are your parents, and if you are watching this video, then we have failed in our duty to you. Parents are supposed to be there for their child, every day, no matter what. To ensure that they are loved, and are safe. And a child should be able to rely on their mother and father, and go to them for reassurance and guidance… And now…" He croaked; he felt his beloved gently entangle her fingers with his on his lap.

"We will tell you now why we have failed in our obligations to you." She exhaled audibly. "I'm the Black Canary, and your Dad is The Green Arrow. Vigilantes that protect the people of our city and assist the police in handing out justice."

"Our lives are very dangerous, which is why we," Oliver and Laurel each gave a small nod of agreement and a rueful smile, knowing this could be one of the only things left of them for their son to remember them with.

"Which is why we agreed to make this video, to explain to you why we couldn't be there to witness your milestones; birthdays, your first day at school, your first crush, your graduation, and anything and everything you have decided to achieve in your life."

"It's because of our decision to put our lives on the line to protect the people of our city, that you don't have us anymore. This is why we have asked your Aunt Thea and Roy to not give you this until your eighteenth birthday if we are no longer around."

Both of them simultaneously wished their son a happy birthday, and Laurel blew him a kiss, "We love you, Connie." They both spoke before Oliver turned off the recording.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

**Present-day**

Laurel was standing in front of a barrel that had flames licking at the rim, she had bought clothes from a thrift store. Black ripped and distressed denim jeans, a dark blue tank top, a black leather jacket, and a black hoody. She then had also bought a dark blue scarf to cover her lower face.

She figured it looked different enough from the look she had as Black Canary. She had then cut her hair just above her neck and dyed it a lighter blonde. Between her new haircut and her throbbing leg, she will be able to avoid facial recognition and whatever other identity recognition software either Brickwell or Felicity may have in their arsenal.

She tossed her old clothes into the barrel, watching the flames lick and burn the clothes that Dinah Laurel Lance had once worn; before she had lost almost everything; and had to give up the rest of her life to ensure that her sister and baby were safe.

It was her job as a parent to minimize the risk of her son being hurt, or worse. And even if it pained her, that it broke her heart to abandon the most important person in her life she had to do it. Her Dad had given her a piece of advice a few days after the birth of his first and only grandchild. That everything she does now should be in the service of ensuring that her baby is safe, happy, and healthy. Everything came second to him.

She pulled out her wallet and took out a photograph of the family she had lost. Her holding Connor, with Ollie standing, his arm wrapping his arm around her waist. Sara and her father standing next to her and Moira. Thea and Roy on the other side of Oliver, with Roy kissing Thea's temple.

A happy family with no idea that within the next few months, everything would go to hell.

Laurel was going to stop Brickwell from crippling Starling and harming her family or die trying. She wasn't going to bury the last two members of her family, so she had to do this alone, and keep Brick's eyes on her and not Connor or Thea.


	13. Once You Let The Darkness Inside

Thea was in the loft, despite Connor playing with his toys, blissfully ignorant of what his parents had done in the name of family and the city, the apartment felt empty. It was usually full of life, Oliver cooking his chili in the kitchen that Raisa had taught him, Laurel making final adjustments to her briefs, Connor being well… Connor, often the apartment would have either the radio or the TV was on in the background for ambient noises.

She was alone, Thea realized, Oliver had given up his life for all of them, for the city, for her. All he asked her to do was look after Laurel and Connor. She couldn't even manage half of that request. Ollie would be disappointed in her, that she let Laurel go off half-cocked towards Brick. It was another thing that she had done to destroy their family.

She had killed Laurel's sister. Killed Sara. Thea would be damned if anything happened to her nephew. To Ollie and Laurel's son. Apparently, the last person with actual Queen blood alive. Thea chewed her cheek, she would protect Connor and hopefully get Laurel back on side. Perhaps that could be the start of her atonement for killing Sara? And for failing Ollie's final request?

She turned to face her bubbly nephew, gave him a watery smile, Thea made her way to him, and leaned down to Connor, "What are we gonna do Conn?" She didn't expect an answer, and certainly did not expect him to pat her shoulder reassuringly as she picked him up. A tender and thoughtful response that she was sure Connor wouldn't know the significance of.

Somehow, she had solely inherited this beautiful apartment, a baby boy, and a city to keep safe. A city that was facing a two-front war against the machinations of Brickwell, and Ra's Al Ghul. She was caught on the enemies of her brother and sister.

Connor sure would have a lot of interesting stories to be told about his family when he grew up. Could she start telling stories to him; about two heroes that wore green and black who saved the day? Or would that be pulling Connor into vigilantism from a young age?

A knock on the door startled Thea. She carried her nephew to his room, handing him his stuffed hawk, and placed him in his crib. She then walked out, locking the window, then the door on her way out, walking towards her handbag to pick up the pistol Quintin had given her when she first started going out as Speedy.

She fought a small smile at her lip, Quintin was right when he told her that the people that die are never gone, but live within them. He was keeping her and his grandson safe thanks to the pistol in her hands.

She turned off the safety, and moved towards the door silently, looking out of the peephole. Her heart leaped as she saw a man covering his face with a crimson hoodie. Roy. Thea could recognize his jawline anywhere.

Thea swung open the door, and leaped into his arms, "You're back?" She sniffled as she moved into his warm embrace.

"I came once I heard about Brickwell, it's on the news and everything." Roy lovingly pressed her into his chest, "I made an arrangement with ARGUS to delay the plan for me to work with them until things have settled down here." He pressed a kiss to her head, "How's Laurel?"

She blinked away the tears, then dragged him into the apartment, and retrieved Connor, so she could keep an eye on him. "Laurel's gone, Roy. She's given up on her life as Laurel and has decided to just be the Black Canary. She did it to protect us."

Roy sat her nephew on his lap, and bounced him on his knee, "What about Con-Man?"

Thea briefly looked away, finding her nephew giggling easier to look at, "Laurel thinks that by putting distance between her and Connor will keep him safe."

Roy hummed, "What did Felicity and Diggle say about that?"

Thea exhaled audibly, "Laurel almost strangled a human trafficker to death, he had heard about Brick before the media, and she choked him to get information on her first night back in the job. When we returned, she was bombarded by Diggle and Felicity telling her that Ra's was the real threat and that they didn't believe Malcolm about Ollie being killed by the League."

Roy was silent for a second before nodding, "So she left? And is hunting down Brick?" Thea nodded, "So, what's the plan? Where do you need me, babe?"

"Only one person alive may be able to stop Laurel from doing something she can't come back from." She looked around the empty apartment, "After I talk to him, we can look at looking after Connor, then the city."

"Laurel will come around. She needs time. For better or worse, her family, you and Connor are everything to her. I promise you that she will come home to you and Connor."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Ra's snapped his fingers as he watched the unbaptized body of Al Sahhim being carried by his soldiers. The Demon's Head had commanded Sarab to be elsewhere, his former self was showing, he wished to be one of the men to care for the body.

It was a risk he couldn't afford, Maseo Yamashiro to return from the grave. He had made a decree that Sarab was not to visit Al Sahim under any circumstances. If he were to exhibit more dissent he would be sent into the black cells for a few weeks. Being held in the cramped cells, not big enough to lay in, nor stand for several weeks in absolute silence and darkness was enough to break the will of any man and allow reconditioning to take place. If not he would made a head shorter.

His horseman and heir would not meet until Al Sahim was truly a man, and no longer the boy that once inhabited the vessel.

Ra's watched as the priestess moved in front of Al Sah Him. The man had many scars both mental and physical, the pit would cure him of the physical traumas that Oliver Queen had ever incurred. Upon seeing several tattoos, the priestess commanded a branding iron.

The ink in his skin would only serve to remind him of his former life. That he had ties. He watched as the priestess seared off the reminders. The man's flesh would return whole as if he was never burnt, inked, nor suffered his wounds. A true rebirth.

This would be different for the would-be usurpers and pretenders; Al Saher, Al Ghabash. Malcolm Merlyn and Damien Darhk, and his traitorous eldest daughter, Talia. They only stole a portion of the waters, one would have to bathe in the pit to fully be revitalized, lest mementos of their mortal wounds remain. Scars, burns alike all remain without bathing in the depths restorative waters.

Any scar that Al Sahim would receive would be in honor of Ra's Al Ghul, and The League of Assassins. He would be born anew.

The body was then dressed in fine robes worthy of the Heir of The Demon. They slowly placed into the depths of the holiest of waters. It took a few moments until the water bubbled as if the waters were boiling over.

His heir's hand rose from the depths and watched as his men hauled him to the side. Once the man was brought a new dry robe to wear, Ra's moved towards him, cradling the man's head in his calloused hands. "Who are you?"

The boy before him looked lost, he truly had no idea where he was or who he used to be. Good. "I… don't."

Ra's silenced him gently, not unlike a father would for his child. "Hush now. You are Al Sahim, Heir to The Demon. It will take time until you truly know what that means, but you will." Any remaining memories will soon fade, leaving only Al Sahim. Ra's then looked over at the priestess, "Ensure that my heir is given the Lotus." The curative would prevent any issues from the mystical waters affecting Al Sahim.

**:-:-:-:-:**

The crowd was gathered around the Hochman Hotel, chanting and protesting about the injustice of the FBI allowing the crime boss to live in the lap of luxury. It certainly wouldn't be the first time that Brick had bought the loyalty of people of influence.

"Lock Brick up!" The crowd cried, "Lock Brick up!"

She watched as she saw a mob of protesters waving signs and banners that expressed the same sentiment. Brick belonged in prison.

Did the FBI not care about all the people he hurt? That he had killed Jo? "It doesn't make any sense." She muttered to herself as she watched the protesters.

She then heard the cockney accent of the man that had ripped her from her son, "Of course it does, no good deed goes unpunished."

She turned to see Brick behind her, wearing a fine suit, and yet no one around her seemed to notice that the man that was the cause of their protests was next to her, "What are you talking about?"

"A mother who left her bastard son to grow up knowing that both of his parents abandoned him, that they tossed him to his paternal aunt all because they put the needs of strangers above him. That they loved strangers over him, so much so that they were willing to give their lives for them"

"That's not what happened. I'm doing this for Connor, I have to keep him safe from you. Even if that means that I can't be with him."

"You can't admit it to yourself, your son was a mistake, an unplanned pregnancy."

Laurel growled at the hallucination, "My son is not a mistake!" He had been a surprise to be sure, but she never considered him a mistake. Connor is the most important thing in her life. His unexpected conception was never going to change that. Connie was the product of the deep and unconditional love between her and Ollie.

Brick seemed to ignore her outburst as if she hadn't just defended her baby. "If there is a god, look at what he has done. He first gave you everything in increments, Thea, Oliver, Sara, then Connor, only to pull the rug from beneath you. Moira was killed by Slade Wilson, your father died after the stress and injuries from The Siege, Sara murdered and her body displayed in front of you and your son. Roy took the fall for crimes he never committed, and your husband, he fell on his sword so The Demon's head couldn't use his on Thea. You lost everything, and everyone just so you could hear my name chanted by the crowds, the final nail in the coffin."

"No!"

"You lost everything just in time to come to the learn the irrefutable truth, I may have lost the battle, but in the end, and this is the end, I won the war." He chuckled, causing Laurel to curl her hand into a fist. "You always thought that Connor was the universe's way of rewarding you and your so-called-husband for fighting the good fight, but does it sound like this is a reward?"

Laurel swallowed the bile rising in her throat, "No, this is hell."

She turned to look at the Englishman, only to see no one next to her, and the crowd continued to chant against Brick's house arrest. It was then that she saw Thea. Laurel moved behind a tree, obscuring herself as she watched her sister, in all but blood, walk towards the FBI agents.

When the voice of her demon returned, he was standing behind her again, "You can never keep her and Connor safe. In the end, you will kill them too."

"Stop it."

"Just like your father. And Sara."

"I said stop." She mumbled a little louder at the specter haunting her. Oliver had told her about the ghosts haunting him, that he had to learn about what they were trying to tell him. She was getting their message loud and clear. She was cursed.

"Just like; Moira, Joanna, and Tommy." It was true, Moira died because Laurel got her out of prison, she defended her in court, Jo died because Laurel couldn't let go of Brick, and Tommy died because she didn't trust him with her secret and so he wanted to show Ollie and her that he could be an asset to them and not just the devil-may-care playboy, were their deaths a warning?

Laurel let out an exasperated chuckle as Not-Brickwell continued, "They all died because of you, Dinah Laurel Lance. Their blood will be coating your hands."

The sound of Thea's voice broke her out of her thoughts, "This is so stupid, I can't believe this."

Laurel's hallucination of Brick chuckled from behind her. "You avoid her because she killed Sara." Laurel clicked her tongue. "Your so-called baby sister killed your blood. How can you trust that she won't ever do the same to Connor, to you?"

"Shut up." Laurel growled under her breath, "It was Malcolm, not her. I would never have left Connor with her if I believed that she was responsible."

"It wasn't like you had a choice." Her hallucination sported a sinister smirk as he taunted Laurel. "Thea will corrupt him, mold him to be his mother and father's successor. If not for her, perhaps Felicity Smoak, or John Diggle? A perfect soldier with a pedigree of vigilantism, someone they can use, especially if sweet Connor inherited his deadbeat mother's gifts."

"I don't want him to live the life that we live, or lived." She sighed, "I want him to grow up and live a normal, healthy, boring, white picket fence life. If Connor becomes a librarian or an accountant, I would consider it one of my greatest achievements||

Before Not-Brickwell could answer, the voice of a cop broke her out of her stupor. "What are you doing Miss Queen?"

Thea graced the officer with a smile, "I'm sorry, who's in charge here?" She asked as she felt as if someone was watching her, she turned around slightly and saw a myriad of indistinguishable strangers going about their day.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Thea's heart sank. She hoped to have seen Laurel looking around the hotel, so it could have been a chance to reach out to her sister before it was too late.

The officer pointed at an African-American woman in a pantsuit: "That's _the brains_ behind Limey not being behind bars. Special Agent Watson."

Thea thanked the officer and moved towards Watson, Thea knew that she had to try to stop Laurel by cutting her off at the pass, if not for Connor, then for Laurel herself, for Starling. The city needs them to be united. Even if it was just her, Roy and Laurel. "Agent Watson?"

The agent shook her head. "I'm sorry I'm not authorized to divulge anything to the media."

"I'm not the media, but a concerned citizen, I heard you were the one behind Brick's release."

Watson furrowed her eyes at the younger woman. "That's misinformation: Brickwell has not been released, but is under house arrest and is a cooperating witness. Make no mistake, he's a convicted criminal and is being treated as such."

Thea scoffed, giving the agent a bemused smirk, "Being held in a twenty-million-dollar penthouse? An interesting punishment."

Watson glared at her, and staunchly defended the bureau, saying, "The suite was seized by the government."

"Ooh, so what's on the menu for _his majesty _tonight? Steak Tartare and champagne or Corned Beef and mash?"

Watson sniggered and pointed over at the line of reporters, "Media over there, and protestors in the mosh pit." She said as she started to walk away from Thea.

Thea recalled her time working alongside Laurel and smirked before calling after the federal agent, "Brick was convicted on five RICO counts. That's twenty years apiece." That's putting aside the murder of Jo. "Care to explain to me how justice has been achieved?"

Watson halted, before marching towards her, "Clarke, Meyers, Cortez, Bennet, Elliot. They lost their lives, and they were good agents, good people. Their lives will not be in vain." She replied coolly before leaving Thea alone.

Thea turned on her heel and left. Perhaps she should talk to Walter soon. If Brick wanted to play the influencing people game, she could do the same. Her mother would be smiling from the grave if everything hadn't gone to shit. Her daughter was about to reconstitute the Queen's family legacy. Thea was going to talk to Walter about creating Queen Consolidated or something similar, to get the clout necessary.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Laurel sighed in relief, as Thea hadn't detected her. She walked down the road and around the corner to see the FBI assisting suppliers to unload and helping them through the side entrance of the hotel.

Finally, some good luck, she thought. She discreetly watched as they entered the pin-code and walked to the van that the suppliers owned, climbing into the back, and pulling out an unused jacket with the supplier's name, and donned the jacket, wheeling another box to the side door.

She walked past the sentinels, giving them a friendly smile, before entering the pin and entering the door, hauling the heavy container with her, one of the agents gallantly held the door open for her, "Thank you." She said sweetly as she entered the building and heard the door close behind her.

She dragged the container down a claustrophobic hallway that just barely would have brushed against Ollie's arms. She shook her head and continued to move forward. With one foot in front of the other, she rounded the corner as one of the suppliers spoke to her, "Oh, hey, hand me one of those BNCs?"

She stilled, what the hell was a BNC? She was a lawyer, the eldest daughter of a long line of cops on her father's side and her mother was an academic, neither were tradesmen. She looked in the open box to see a variety of bits and pieces. She selected one of the metal bits at random and handed them, man, it, and swiftly left the hallway, as she heard him complain that he asked for a BNC, and not whatever else he received instead.

Laurel walked past a bin and tore off the rain jacket and shoved it in the container, she adjusted her hoodie and walked out to the lobby of the hotel. She looked around at the new home of one of the men that had uprooted her life. And was now an ever-present threat to her baby boy. Daniel Brickwell. An upper-class establishment that had candles lit, the waitstaff, wearing cummerbunds and bow ties. This was not supposed to be his castle, he should be rotting behind bars.

She heard many of the hotel's guests were voicing their discontent at the thought of sharing a building with the man.

She continued forward, and she heard _his _voice again, making her wonder if she was losing it. Why was she hallucinating that bastard? "So, you made it into my castle, now what?"

"Why would they let you out?" She mumbled under her breath. The last thing she needed was to alert people that she was crazy, she may very well lose her chance to even make her move.

"Does it even matter, Darlin'?" He asked, "I think the real question is what are you planning on doing when you find me, what are you willing to do?"

She ignored his questions, looking over the fine banisters and down to the lobby below, hearing classical music playing softly in the background of people's mutterings. "If the FBI is protecting you, you're an asset. You made yourself important. You cut a deal with them." Laurel whispered as she looked around.

"Smart lass, with everything I know about the criminal underworld in this beautiful city… They will be eating out of my hand."

"You will manipulate them." She corrected her hallucination.

"You don't know that. You're not clairvoyant, if you were you wouldn't be questioning your decision to abandon your baby son. Perhaps they will allow me to raise him as I should have done for Sammy before he was ripped from my arms."

"You will never touch Connor!" She snarled. "And I know you, you will corrupt those agents."

"Perhaps prison has changed me, is that not a part of your ideology that you cherish so much? The purpose of prison is to rehabilitate and allow a person to atone? Isn't that why you stopped Oliver from killing when he was behind the green hood after returning from abroad?" Laurel chuckled at the thought of Brick redeeming himself, a leopard cannot change his spots.

Her hallucination of Brick continued to taunt her. "Maybe at this very moment, I am providing intelligence for the FBI, information that can and will save lives. And you are dallying around this hotel doing what? Skulking from the shadows. A deadbeat mother that clings to her oldest enemy for stability, a sad ending for the once-revered Black Canary."

She looked around, before walking away from Not-Brick only for him to follow her, "Oh, the Irony, that I am to become more valuable to this city than you everywhere." She continued to ignore him and continued walking down the grand staircase.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Brick placed his cup of tea beside his feet, not looking at his lawyer, "And?"

"Josiah Beckett has eyes on him, Samuel is safe. I have designated two men to watch him from a safe distance."

He had to ascertain if his son was where the FBI said he was. He needed to know how far he could trust them, how much they trusted him.

"A small town in Kansas not far from Metropolis. His foster parents are clean. Farmers." He stood up glaring at his lawyer, "Why the hell is he in Kansas?"

"It was his choice, apparently the judge was sympathetic to him, and gave the boy a map of the states, and asked him where he would want to live. He chose Kansas."

Brick scowled; what kind of judge would do that? Was the man simple? "How is he? Is he happy? Healthy?"

Brick's lawyer handed him his phone that showed his son helping his foster father erecting a wooden post and rail fence to keep the livestock in the fields. Brick smiled proudly at his son who had grown into a strapping young boy, and yet, he looked so much like his mother.

"And to answer your questions, yes, Samuel is happy and healthy and is in the top quartile of his class. Though he has gotten in his fair share of fights with some of the children who have accosted him for his relation to you."

"Double his guard, Kansas is close, and is under the radar, but I will not underestimate the Irish." He heard his lawyer leaving, his shoes echoing as he left the penthouse.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Thea was sitting in the loft, and as Roy went to get them some dinner, she turned and threw a flechette towards the window, as Malcolm deftly caught the missile. "It seems that Laurel has taught you well. Speaking of The Canary of Starling City, where is she?"

"Gone," Thea responded curtly. "What are you planning on using her as well?"

Despite Laurel almost automatically forgiving her for killing Sara, Thea still felt the miasma of guilt creeping through her chest. And the man standing in front of her was the sole reason for her losing her family to Brickwell and Ra's.

"And yet, she abandoned Connor, and you?" Malcolm asked her with the look of a parent who knew his daughter was lying, "I'm not stupid, Thea. I know that my old associate is on house arrest, and she is the… the headstrong woman she is has decided to renew her one-woman-crusade upon him. Not that I blame her."

"What do you want?" She growled as she moved towards Connor's playpen to put herself between him and Malcolm.

"Relax," He said raising his hands, "I have no intention of harming your nephew, in saying that, you remind me of your mother." He said thoughtfully. "Like Laurel, I'm a parent that will do anything to keep my child safe. We need to go, take Connor and we will leave the country."

"What? No."

"It's not up for debate, I lied when I told Oliver that his death would satisfy Ra's desire for my death. Ra's himself needed to die for the blood debt to be wiped out." It was his plan, after all, to have Oliver kill Ra's, who would deny taking the throne, and he would step into the void and restore Nanda Parbat back to obedience.

"If you told Ollie the truth, Laurel would have stayed to help protect us from them." Thea continued to glare at her biological father. "Diggle should have let Laurel strangle you!"

"Your faith in your sister-in-law is endearing, but if Oliver can't beat him, what hope does she have? She may have that scream, but beating Ra's is something else entirely. She also has unfinished business with Brickwell and knows that the man is not one to forget an insult. Laurel has finally grown up into a woman who understands that the world is not the idyllic place that she imagined but a cold, unrelenting world."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Laurel was sitting at the bar, listening to a couple of agents bickering about their food. One seemed disheartened about the fact that the other had bought them Big Belly Burger, and not something more exotic.

The bartender came over to her, "What can I get for you, Miss?"

She looked up at the man, "Just water, thank you." The man nodded before walking away to resume cleaning some of his glasses before getting her water.

Laurel sighed audibly as her hallucination visited her again, "It has an amazing view."

"And you should be rotting in a cell, the only view you should have is one obstructed by cold steel bars and a wall." She answered as she saw Brick make himself comfortable on the stool next to her.

"Is that your grand plan? To ensure that I return back to prison? What was it they said about insanity? Something about repeating the same thing expecting a different result? There's only one way to stop me, and you don't have it in you to do it."

"You want to bet on that?" Didn't he know that she would do anything to keep Connor safe, the reason why everyone but Thea disavowed her?

"In a way, you are my accomplice. If I belong behind bars, so do you. Everything that has happened since you refused to kill me is in your hands as much as it is mine. No amount of mental gymnastics can stop that. The people I have killed, the ones to come, I wonder who is next?" She watched out of the corner of her eye, as Brick's smug lawyer walked past her en route to his boss's keep. "You can follow him right to me. It would be so easy; you know that you want to." He taunted.

Laurel stood from the bar and walked down the hall to where the lawyer had entered the building only to be stopped by a female agent, with brown shoulder-length hair. "May I see your room key, Ma'am?"

Laurel patted her empty pocket, saying, "Yeah I got it." She bluffed.

The agent stopped her, and placed a hand over her sidearm that was visibly holstered to her hip, The agent's brown eyes watching Laurel suspiciously, "No, I need to see it."

"Oh, sure." She said as she patted herself down trying to find something she knew didn't exist.

Brick's accented voice whispered in her ear, "You could take her, grab her gun. I'm caged up like an animal, unarmed. Like a lamb to the slaughter"

"Ma'am?" The agent repeated.

Laurel patted down her pockets to make it seem like she had genuinely lost her keys. She had to make it seem that she was an irrelevant, innocuous citizen. "This is embarrassing, they gave me quite a few of them."

"But you won't. You are too soft. That's why I don't hire women to do men's work." Brick's voice said. "You can't kill me. Oliver had no qualms about killing, he even fought Ra's with that intention."

Laurel stuttered as if she were flustered by the thought of losing her keys, not from being hindered by the agent. "I must have left them in my car." It was a terrible lie, and she could tell that the agent didn't believe her.

"Then you can't come through." She replied briskly.

Laurel gave her a faux-smile, to conceal her irritation, "Sure, I'll be back, agent?"

"Smythe."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Later that night, Brick was served some third-rate meal, after the hot-headed agent left, all that remained was Agent Smythe. She stood by the window, unmoving as he was supposed to eat as if he couldn't be trusted with the kitchen utensils.

"It's Agent Smythe, correct?"

"Yes."

"You have my condolences for your fallen agents. Losing them to protect some criminals like me must be hard for their loved ones. I imagine that they find it easier in their hearts to hate me than think that those agents died as true heroes. If you think that it would give them some sort of solace, offer them my condolences and heartfelt gratitude for their heroism."

Smythe didn't even look at him, "You only have five minutes to eat your meal. Less talking, more chewing, convict."

"I owe those agents a debt that I can never repay. It is not lost on me, however, that I also owe you for your heroism. I have known... Gifted people. You use your extraordinary gift is used to help those in need. May I ask where you acquired your particular talent?"

Smythe marched towards him, snatching his uneaten platter of food and leaving the penthouse without uttering a word. She had watched her fiancé killed before her eyes as Zsasz stabbed him in the eye. She wouldn't succumb to this bastard's manipulations; he was no better than Charlie's killer.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

The Canary of Starling City waited in Brick's Lawyer's car, as the man sat in his expensive BMW, and closed the door, Laurel pulled his seat belt around his neck and pulled back slightly. "Why did Brick backstab the Irish?"

The attorney tried to look at her in the mirror, so she reached out, turned off the lights and moved the mirror out of focus.

"I don't know what you are talking about! You have the wrong person…" He gasped out the last word as Laurel tightened the cord, causing the man to reassess his priorities. "Brickwell hated prison. The FBI facilitated him getting out."

"No." She growled, keeping her voice low and deep, "Why did he specifically turn on the Irish and not someone else?"

"I'm just a lawyer." He rasped out, trying to protect his hide.

She was having none of that. He knew something. "What is he getting out of this? What's his endgame? The territory that belonged to the Irish?"

"No." He rasped.

"Money?"

The lawyer choked for a few seconds before managing to say, "No."

"Fair enough." She whispered, "Just tell me when you feel like breathing?" She whispered menacingly as she pulled harder on the cord, forcing the man to hit the back of his head on the headrest and gasp for air.

"Brickwell's son… Samuel. The feds will let him have full custody if he helps them." The Lawyer wheezed.

"No." The vigilante growled.

"I promise you! He's doing it all for that boy."

Laurel loosened the cord slightly to allow him to breathe, the last thing she needed was him passing out before she had what she needed. "And where is Samuel?" She asked, while she could hear a couple of agents planning to have dinner, she dived out of the car, using the other cars in the parking garage as cover. Meanwhile, Brick's lawyer begged for help.

The Woman in Black darted away from the car and hid behind a cement pillar, an agent was speaking over the radio. "Unidentified assailant in the parking garage, the person is considered armed and dangerous"

Laurel heard a gun cock and leaned against the cement pillar as an agent started to walk past her, casing the area. She silently followed, before sending a hard punch to the side of his head, knocking him out. She grabbed his heavy body before he fell and tucked him beneath one of the cars.

Two more agents moved past as she hid in the shadows. She managed to sneak past one, without detecting the other, she pulled her arm around his neck and choked him until he passed out, hiding him in a small alcove.

The Canary made her way to the stairwell, only to hear a couple of agents announce their presence over their radio. After gently closing the door, she darted out and hid behind a car as she heard one of the agents request backup.

She stood up, and left her hideaway, to have a gun pointed at her face. "Stop! Federal Agents!" He stood a step towards her, "They had families, bitch."

"I respect your job, I'm not here to…" She then lunged for the gun, with the attempt to disarm him, only for the agent to be a lot stronger than he looked, the agent lifted her up with ease and slammed her hard onto the hood of the nearest car.

She weaved out of his grip and slammed his head into the hood.

"There she is! Stop!" She bobbed and weaved out of the line of fire, and ran to the cars for cover. "Come out with your hands up. Now."

She snuck around them and flanked them, taking two off guard and throwing one of the pistols at the other's head. She didn't see the man behind her who bull-rushed her, sending her flying to the ground, she haphazardly kicked out towards him, and stood up, delivering an uppercut.

The agent fell. "Stay down, I don't want to hurt you." The Canary warned before the agent stood back up, only for her to send a couple of jabs, sending him back to the ground. She walked past him, only for him to grab her leg.

She stopped, and exhaled, when she again heard the voice of the devil on her shoulder, Brick "That's it. Let the Canary out!"

She grabbed the man by the scruff of his collar, delivered several hard punches to his face and dropped him back to the ground, before kneeling over him, and picking him up again, punching his face repeatedly.

She hated herself for losing control. Maybe she was a monster? She shouldn't enjoy hurting people, she enjoyed helping people. How could she look in her son's eyes when she was someone that enjoyed inflicting pain on others? That she was a monster?

"Felt good, didn't it? Too bad that you still can't get to me and they are a poor man's substitute for; Yours Truly. I am going to kill everyone you love, and there is nothing you can do about it, the FBI will turn a blind eye as long as I spoon-feed them information."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Thea sat at the table after just feeding Connor and watching Felicity try to convince baby Sara to eat a small morsel of chicken parmigiana, despite the infant's age. Thea turned back after wiping her grubby nephew's face of the dinner, she watched Diggle placed his gun on the table and take a sip of Lyla's wine.

She heard Lyla reprimand her husband for leaving the Glock on the dinner table as Roy moved towards her, and wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "How's Con-Man?"

"Messy." She grumbled, "And I think he has just noticed that M-O-M and D-A-D have not been around for a while."

"I'm surprised that Laurel left him to pursue Brick," Diggle said as he sat down. "It's like Laurel has been itching for something like this to happen. An excuse to fight."

Lyla shrugged, taking a sip of her wine, "You saying that if I had died or was MIA, and someone like Brick or Lawton came back, someone who you have a history with you wouldn't do whatever it took to stop them if they were targeting Sara? Leave her with family or close friends? I think you are being too hard on Laurel, Johnny. "

"I suppose, I don't know… I find it hard to imagine a scenario that would lead me to abandon Sara."

After an awkward silence, Felicity coughed and looked between Roy and Diggle. "How did it go out there last night, she then looked at Thea, and why weren't you out with them?"

"Your intel was spot on, caught four Outsiders unloading a shipment of M16s."

Thea then piped up, "I wasn't out because Lyla was helping me with Connor."

Diggle sat up, and looked at Thea, "How are you doing?" Thea wasn't her usual bubbly self since Laurel decided to go rogue. Even having Roy back wasn't enough to revitalize his brother's sister. It was one of the many reasons he and Lyla had suggested to Thea that they would be happy to look after her nephew when she needed it.

"Having never looked after Connor for more than a weekend max, I think I'm coping." What else could she say, without sounding like a horrible parental guardian?

"I mean about Oliver and Laurel." He clarified gently.

"I don't know." How could she describe the myriad of feelings she had, how she had managed to endure her brother being killed to save her, and Laurel going off on a suicide mission to protect Connor and herself? Not to mention to stop the bastard from infecting the city again. "The mornings are the worst, or when Connor looks around for or cries out for them… I— we just miss them."

Thea felt Roy wrap his arm around her, and Lyla rubbed Thea's forearm. "All three of you are always welcome here." The older woman then looked at Roy. "You have now officially been put on our books as a freelancer, but you won't be called upon to work. It's just for the books so you can stay here indefinitely."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Laurel was washing her hands in Ted's old storage room, his Wildcat suit and weapons safely packed in boxes. In one corner was an old worn futon, and next, it was the photograph of her family before everything went to hell.

She heard the door being unlocked, followed by Ted walking in, "Thea called. Said that you were hunting for Brick again?"

"Leave me alone, Ted. Doesn't Central City need you with its influx of people who are lost and need direction?"

"That's true for almost anywhere if you look hard enough. But Dinah, those people aren't my family." He said softly. After a long few seconds, he spoke again answering her unspoken question. "Thea's looking after the little one."

Laurel closed her eyes, feeling her eyes sting at leaving her son practically on her aunt's doorstep. Is she a terrible mother? "Am I a terrible mother for leaving him?" She asked, looking at her friend and mentor, needing him to tell her that she was doing the right thing.

"That depends, you doing this for yourself or for him?"

"I don't know." She admitted defeatedly.

"Yes, you do." He said calmly "And I won't get in your way of stopping you. I don't know what Thea intended when she called me, but I'm here for you, a shoulder to lean on. He then wrapped his arm around her, "So what are you planning on doing Dinah?"

She looked up at the dim overhead light pondering an answer, "I don't know. Maybe, I will stop him. For good this time.

Ted looked at her with concern, "You're going to have to deal with your rage, Dinah." He said firmly, yet not unkindly, "Find a way to harness it. Or it will destroy you. Anger is a spark, it can fuel you, it can be channeled. Rage, on the other hand, is a wildfire. Out of control. Useless. You are just as likely to burn yourself, as well as others. Think about what you have to lose, you haven't lost everything, not yet."

After a few seconds of silence, Ted spoke again, "Do you trust Malcolm Merlyn? Do you believe that Ra's truly killed Oliver?"

Laurel kept scrubbing her bloody hands. "I… I'm not sure." It felt different than the last time. When he had left on the Gambit with Sara and Robert. "If Ollie's alive, and I hope he is, that he forgives me, and knows what he's doing, then he has a plan. But I can't lose focus on Brick. He's just as much a threat as Ra's. I need to do whatever it takes to protect my family. "

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Thea was wiping down the bar at Verdant, she had to go over some managerial paperwork to keep the business running, which was one of the ways to honor her brother's legacy. She had made a vow to herself that she would remind the world that her brother was more than a former playboy, who collected misdemeanors, and the eyes of the SCPD. She wanted to remind people that her brother was a philanthropist, he cared about the city he lived in. That he was a loving brother and son, a devoted husband and father. By managing Verdant and ensuring that a percentage of the revenue went to helping The Glades, was her way of doing so.

Perhaps, between the money she had inherited from Malcolm's quote-unquote death, and the goodwill she is garnering in honor of her brother's legacy, she could either buy back either Merlyn Global, or Queen Consolidated, or at the very least own a large stake in Palmer Tech to help Connor, and Laurel if— No. When she returns from taking down Brickwell by herself.

She looked up at the clock, to see when Roy and Connor would return from picking up some Big Belly Burger when she heard the front doors open, and a figure in black walked in slowly, with a hood and sunglasses.

"We're closed for the night, housekeeping and the like," she said as she focused back on wiping down the bar, it helped ground her, doing menial work that everything that had happened was real and wasn't some horrible nightmare that she wasn't waking up from.

"Speedy." Came the voice of someone she never thought she would hear from again.

Thea's head shot up to see Laurel standing not five feet from her, "This isn't real." She murmured more to herself than to her sister in all but name. The woman in front of her had a much lighter shade of blonde hair, much shorter too. "L…Laurel?"

"It's real. I'm real." Her sister confirmed with a sad smile, showing her sporting a purple jaw and busted lip.

Thea chuckled as she bounced into Laurel's arms, perhaps her sister had come back to her senses and wanted to work as a team, as a family. The way Ollie would have wanted them to operate. She couldn't help but hum at the feeling of Laurel patting her on the back softly.

"Hey, Speedy."

Thea's smile widened, Laurel was truly back. "Your back! Roy's back too, we can work this out…" Thea's heart dropped, when she saw the guilty look Laurel was giving.

"I'm not back." Answered Laurel, looking melancholic.

"Oh." Thea's lips pursed as she tried to maintain her emotions. She had prayed that Ted would have gotten through to her, perhaps, he couldn't find her. She knew that Felicity had tried to find her once or twice to no avail. "If this is about Sara… I deserve whatever punishment you decide on, just please, come home." She pleaded as she wept.

Laurel removed her sunglasses, revealing a nasty black eye. "I could never blame you, Speedy. It's never been about that. I never blamed you for that… But I'm not back, Speedy." She reiterated it carefully. "Laurel Lance is gone… I'm leaving her behind." It was left unsaid why Laurel knew that Thea would understand her reasoning.

If Laurel Lance disappeared, Brick wouldn't go looking for her hubris. Out of sight, out of mind. Or at least she prayed that would be the case.

Thea swallowed, as she digested the information, she thought that her abandoning her life was temporary just to catch Brick. "What?" Thea asked, her voice thick with emotion.

Laurel hesitated, "I—uh… Came to tell you that I have confirmed that Brick is actually out of jail, I wanted to tell you to keep your head on a swivel."

"Laurel…" Thea started.

"I've been having a rough go at it over the last year and I thought I was coming out the other end. I've been questioning a lot of— the point of everything I have done." Her lips trembled before she spoke, her eyes looking anywhere but Thea's. "And last night, I had an epiphany. I am going after him, Thea. I'm going to take him down permanently. But I can only do that if I know that you, Connie and Roy, now that he is back are safe. That _my_ family is safe."

Thea had to slow her sister down on her plans, and to do so, she would have to manipulate her sister, using Connor. Thea knew that she would feel dirty doing so, but she had to do whatever it took, "Slow down, Laurel. If you wait for say, five minutes, Roy and _your_ baby will be here and we can talk and gain some perspective." Be a family. "Connor misses his Mommy; he cried all night he wants his Mommy."

Laurel's eyes welled up. It seems Laurel wasn't done with her life as much as she claimed otherwise. Maybe Laurel had not come here to warn her, but to just see and hear her family? To be with them, if only it was for a few minutes. Thea supposed that was a step in the right direction.

That no matter how much Laurel tried to build a wall around her, she still had a gentle heart and loved her family. And couldn't stay away from them too long even if she tried.

"How is—" Laurel shook her head and swallowed audibly. "I know that you will want to get involved, you and Roy will try to take on Brick in some fashion. I'm telling you to stay out of it, and leave him and this, to me. It started with the two of us, and that is how it will end."

Thea looked at her as if Laurel had grown two heads, "No," she scoffed.

"No?" Laurel asked, confused.

Thea repeated more firmly, "No. You don't get to show up after leaving _your _family_. _Your _only _child, and sister and order me like that. Since I started working alongside you, you _insisted_ that we were partners, sisters, _equals_. You know me better than to think I would just accept your command." Thea took a breath, throwing the wet towel on the bar, "You're more than my best friend, you are my sister! We have to protect the last of our family, together." Thea hiccupped, as tears ran down her cheek.

Laurel pulled her dark lens sunglasses back on to hide her eyes from Thea. Concealing Laurel's emotions behind them. "I see now that I was wrong about many things; rekindling our friendship, training you…" Thea reeled back, visibly hurt by Laurel's words. Even if she knew the reasoning behind it, she was trying to keep her at a distance.

Laurel was trying to put up a wall of indifference and callousness to keep her away from helping Laurel with Brick.

"I…" She hesitated, sounding guilt-ridden and broken, "I put you in danger, and that was incredibly selfish of me." She cleared her throat, "Now, neither of us can change the past, however, I can stop making the same mistake… We are done, Thea. It's over." She said, standing up, from the barstool, she hesitated for a moment, "Please don't take this out on Connor, you and Roy are all he has."

Thea squared her shoulders, glaring at the woman that was as close to her as a sister, "I would never take it out on Connor! You know that!" She said, standing up, her lip rising into a snarl, "There must seriously be something wrong with you to abandon _your_ family. M_y_ sister wouldn't turn her back on the people that love her."

Laurel gave her a rueful smile, "I know, Speedy." She said before her voice had an edge to it, a warning, that Thea had never heard Laurel use on her. "Stay away from Brick, tell Roy, and the other two to do the same. I would appreciate it if you could do me one last favor, on top of looking after Connie— Don't tell the others that you saw me, and don't follow, or track me."

"Do you even hear yourself right now, Laurel?" Thea feared that Laurel was too far down in her own rabbit hole filled with grief, that perhaps only Ollie or Quintin, or herself could help her out of the darkness she found herself in.

"Goodbye, Speedy," Laurel whispered sadly, as she left out through the side entrance.

"Laurel! Laurel!" She called after her, only for the woman to continue walking out of the club and into the world, alone with no family to guide her or protect her.

A few minutes later, Roy walked in with Connor in one arm giggling, and food in the other, if only she kept her sister busy for another few minutes, and Connor giggling and contagious smile would have won his mother over. Thea was sure of it.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Brick was sitting on the staircase of his penthouse, when his lawyer walked in, "I have some information that you will want to hear."

Brick grunted as he gulped down the last mouthful of his tea from a foam cup, "And?"

"A woman in black had attempted to choke me for information, and got into an altercation with six FBI agents in the parking garage."

"Was it the Black Canary?" Brick asked as he lowered the cup with his feet. "I heard rumors while I was in prison that she was killed by The Green Arrow. The Russians seemed adamant. Other reports say that she perished in The Undertaking. Are you sure this is the same woman that stole everything from me?"

"She wasn't in a black suit with coattails, but yeah, I think it was her."

Brick snorted as he slowly walked towards the large windows that showed a panoramic view of Starling City, a city that had been accosted by vigilantes, terrorists, clandestine organizations, and mercenaries. "So, The Canary is back."

"We heard rumors of her months ago both here and in Central City. We, including yourself, thought it was a replacement or wishful thinking on our enemies. What do we do now?"

"Nothing. Not yet, we will continue on as planned. The Canary wears her heart on her sleeve soon enough she will show her hand to me, and then I will deal with her." And anyone else who wants to follow in her footsteps.


	14. Things We Do For Love

**A/N: A special thanks to Okoriwadsworth for reading through the fight sequence and ensuring that it made sense. I really appreciate it. If you haven't read Okori's fics, I can't recommend them enough. **

Ray took a large gulp of his espresso and sighed as he felt reinvigorated. He looked back at the computer monitor, "Ok, alright…" He then smiled congenitally at the webcam that he was adjusting, "This will be gauntlet pulse test thirty-seven Alpha."

He moved to the side table, picked up the gauntlet, and slipped his hand into the glove, followed by taking a screwdriver for adjustment, "Two-second burst at eight-hundred vaults." He aimed his wrist-mounted laser gauntlet at the creepy clown punching bag.

Payback for when he watched It for the first time and found it difficult to walk over storm drains for the next few months.

"In Five, four…" Smoke, followed by rattling emitted from the gauntlet, before sparks flew and shorted the device, Ray slammed his fist on the steel desk and swore.

The city had gone to hell in a handbasket. Black Canary had disappeared either during or after The Undertaking and was suspected to have succumbed to her injuries, or just as likely had hung up her mask, after failing to stop the event. Her partner in crime, The Green Arrow had recently died after the fiasco with Roy Harper. All that was left was Speedy.

The poor archer had never operated by herself without either The Emerald Archer or The Canary of Starling City was around. That is partially why he had started preparing his invention, to aid Starling City from the numerous crimes that riddled the city, a crazy woman attacking the FBI, the rumors of ninjas, and most importantly, to ensure that no one suffered the loss of someone thanks to the machinations of dangerous people, as he lost Anna.

When he heard the sound of heels clicking off the marble floor, he looked up to see Felicity Smoak, "Clowns?"

"Clowns freaked me out. Especially Pennywise, couldn't, and still can't walk over drains without feeling anxious."

"You are sure showing that evil clown now." Felicity quipped, looking from the clowns to Ray.

"I would be if I could figure out how to modulate this damn gauntlet." He said shaking his wrist that held the gauntlet in frustration.

"Ray, I know that I said that I would help you…"

"Save the city you mean?"

Felicity nodded, "Um… Yeah, I don't want you to risk your life."

Ray turned around and held her shoulders. "The assortment of vigilantes from The Flash in Central City, to Black Canary and Green Arrow here in Starling where little to no armor. I will be more than safe in the exo-suit." He assured her.

"But…"

Ray gave her a small reassuring smile, "It is too difficult a pill to swallow, start out small." He then pulled out a small nano-chip. "Help me configure this chip, first. Baby Steps."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Laurel walked the familiar hallway to her family's loft, her home…their former home. She pulled out a picklock from her jacket pocket and prayed that neither Thea nor Roy were home and that she and Roy had taken Connie and moved back into her old apartment. She looked up and down the hallway, unlocked the door, and entered.

She walked up the stairs slowly as she remembered her, Ollie and Thea looking around the loft with the realtor. She initially was reluctant to leave her apartment but was convinced by Oliver that it would be safer for them, and better for their small family to have a larger space.

She made her way up and entered her baby's room. She felt a tear escape from her eye when she opened the door. She slowly moved around the room, picking up a toy snake, before moving over to his crib to pick up his stuffed hawk.

Laurel clutched the stuffed toy and could smell her son. She hoped that she was doing the right thing for him and that he and Ollie wouldn't hate her for leaving Connor with his aunt, while she risked life and limb fighting Daniel Brickwell.

After a little while, she left Connor's room, and his toys to enter her and Ollie's room. The bed had remained untouched from when she had last used it. She buried the thoughts of Ollie hating her for leaving their son in the lurch.

After she had changed, she left the apartment, exited the building, and called a cab. A few seconds later, she entered the car.

The driver sighed dramatically, looking at her in the view mirror, "Oh, these mornings are getting colder and colder, where are we headed, Ma'am?"

Laurel smiled at the driver as she told him where she needed to go, she was headed to The Glades to a small-time forger, Ollie had come across him last year when he needed information. She pulled the money out of her pocket and felt guilty for stealing it from her sister.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Roy watched as Thea paced up and down the living room. He could tell that she had been itching to tell him something for the better part of a day, ever since he had returned to Verdant with Big Belly Burger. Something had happened that was eating at her. "Wouldn't it be easier to tell me what's bugging you, than wearing a trench sized hole in our living room?"

"Fine!" She grumbled, "But you can't tell Felicity or Diggle." Roy nodded and gestured as she continued, "You remember when you and Conn left to pick up our dinner while I worked? Well, Laurel showed up, and proceeded to tell me that I will never see her again."

"How was she?" Though judging by the fact that she wasn't here with them, he could hazard a guess.

"Lost." She answered sadly," She—It was like she didn't care that she was walking towards her death." Thea added before rushing towards the door and unholstering her small pistol from her calf.

Roy sighed, as he watched her race off to the door once again, "Thea, it's locked, just as it was the last few times you checked it."

Thea returned, waving her finger at him. "We need to get more than that dead-bolt. We should bar the windows, especially Connor's."

Roy stood up, walking towards her, "Thea, relax. It's going to be alright."

"I doubt that. Malcolm tells me that he had lied to Ollie. Ra's wouldn't consider the blood debt settled with Ollie's blood. My brother left me, his wife and son for nothing! He died for nothing! And now, Brick will want my head, and likely yours and Connor's, too." She then paced again. "Laurel wants me to stick to the sidelines while she deals with Brickwell."

"Thea, breath. We will take the necessary precautions, and just because Laurel is busy with Brick, doesn't mean that you and I can't look after this city and ourselves. If Laurel were in our footsteps, you know she would do the same, give her breathing room. If she needs us, we will answer the call, she's family whether she wants to admit it or not, she's not alone."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

The cab had arrived at Iron Heights before she climbed out of the vehicle, where she handed the driver a couple of hundred dollar bills, feeling immense guilt as she did so, but she tried to silence her rising guilt, at reminding herself why she was doing this; to protect her family, Her baby, Thea, and Roy.

"Take the two hundred, if you wait to pick me up afterwards?"

"No problems, Ma'am." The driver said as he reclined his seat, as she left the car and slowly walked towards the perimeter of the jail, and into the front entrance. Laurel walked in and made her way to the clerk who was behind protective plastic. "Hello, How's your morning?" She asked putting more enthusiasm and happiness into her voice than she had had in a long time.

The man thankfully was interested in small talk, "Purpose of your visit today, Miss?"

"I have a meeting with my client this morning." She answered and followed up with a fake smile that she was sure would make both Moira proud.

"I.D?"

Laurel padded down her jacket and looked at the man flustered and slightly embarrassed. "I can't find my purse. God, don't tell me I left it at home after I had to deal with my son's tantrum!" She muttered to herself frantically, hoping that the man would take some pity on her.

"How about picture I.D? I know how it feels forgetting something like that after being frazzled by the little ones."

"You sure?" She asked, relieved that she didn't have to continue lying.

"Yeah."

She gave him a genuine smile, padding down her jacket and pulling out her fake I.D. that showed her a picture under the name of Sara Drake. Her sister's name, and her mother's maiden name. It felt strongly comforting that one of her sisters was with her on her crusade.

"Name?"

"Drake. Sara Drake."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Laurel was sitting in the visitor section of the prison, waiting for a client of CNRI, she looked up as the man briskly walked towards her, he looked happy to see her, "Laurel! I thought that I had a new lawyer…"

"How are you, Sean?" She asked as he wrapped his arms around her.

"It's so good to see you. How have you been? How's the baby?"

Laurel grinned, "He's good, quiet but good." Internally she was worried that she would break down after hearing, thinking and talking about her baby. It's good to see you though, Sean."

"Yeah, me too. Even if it is in this shithole." He then stopped, and raised a finger, "I'm sorry, been curbing my language as of late, how can I be an upstanding member of society if I speak like a damn sailor?"

"Oops, there you go again," Laurel said with a small chuckle.

"My apologies, Saint Laurel."

"I'm no saint." A saint would never abandon her son with their aunt.

"You and Thea saved my hide. You cut down my sentence to two years then parole provided I am on good behavior. And I have been a model prisoner." He then looked around the room, "Where is Thea anyway, you two are always joined at the hip."

She coughed, "We aren't uh… We aren't working together anymore."

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that you two were my knights in shining armor. Thea was ok… for a brat born with a silver spoon in her mouth." He said with a small amused grin. Laurel swallowed down the guilt, imagining Thea huffing at his playful barb.

Laurel gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes, "In saying that, this visit is just between you and me, yeah? Thea doesn't have to know…"

"Say no more, I've got you. You saved my life from being behind bars for a misunderstanding. It's the least I can do." He then leaned on the table, "What's the big secret?"

Laurel cleared her throat, and prayed that he would be willing to talk, "You, uhh… worked with the Irish, right?

He shook his shoulders. "A long while that was. Petty stuff, lookouts, running."

"Fair enough, but have they granted you their protection?" She prodded.

Sean sniffed as he looked around, "What do you even want with the Irish anyway?"

"I would like to meet them."

"Branching out? What both of the Queens leave you behind? A single mom?" He asked, taking her silence as an answer, he gave her a look of pity, "If any of them need a good defense lawyer, your name will be the first to come up. I know you need money as a single mother, Laurel, they aren't your usual clientele, they're murderers. People that wouldn't hesitate to snuff you and your little man if they thought you aired their dirty laundry."

"I want a meeting with Liam Delany."

Laurel watched as Sean sat back, looking uneasy, his voice becoming firm, a stark contrast from the jovial man he was a few seconds ago. "Nobody gets in with Delany."

She cocked her head, "C'mon, you can't make it happen?" As Sean looked around, looking for eavesdroppers, so did she. Laurel spotted two men, one prisoner, and the other a visitor, who kept subtly turning their gaze towards her and Sean. "What do you want with him, anyway?"

Laurel answered softly so that the observers couldn't overhear, "Daniel Brickwell could have backstabbed by anyone. I want to know why the Irish?"

Sean spoke to her while looking at the men watching them. His voice no longer firm, but fearful. "Let it go, Laurel. Please."

"I wish I could. Brick stays out of prison, innocent people die; my son _will _die!" She whispered to him, more forcefully.

"I don't know shit." He said, clamming up.

"You can help me; I will put a good word in for your parole board when it comes up." If she lived that long.

"You know I would. You and Thea saved me from a lot of time in here, and I will be forever grateful, but this will get me killed. I can't." The next thing she knew, Sean apologized softly, before he delivered a right hook, and the blow sent her off the stool and to the ground. "Get the hell away from me! I don't know him!" She turned to see her former client dragged away by several guards. As he was, he looked directly at one of the Irish prisoners and proclaimed that he never uttered a word to her, on the life of his mother.

A few seconds later, one of the guards came up to her, "Ma'am."

She waved him away, "It's all right. Just a misunderstanding." She didn't have a record of being in here. It was bad enough she didn't anticipate the swing from Sean.

"Miss Drake, you need to be checked out by a nurse, you were slugged pretty hard by him."

Laurel chuckled away his concerns, "I'm fine. I'm fine, really."

"Fair enough, you can say that in the incident report. Non-negotiable, liability concerns, you know the drill. Can't let you go before you sign one, unfortunately." He said that as he gently put his hand between her shoulder blades, he gently led her to the medic station, though his eyes never ceased from following her. .

The guard let her down several hallways before they entered the hospital wing and one of the rooms. "Wait here, the doc or the nurse will be by shortly."

"Thank you."

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Felicity was running a side program on her work computer, trying to track the movement of The League for her, John, Thea, and Roy to follow, so far, with John's contacts, the League was known to brainwash people into becoming their soldiers. A man with the strength, resilience, and skills that Oliver possessed surely would be an asset to The League.

She looked up to Ray walk in, "I know it's rather late, but any luck with the nanite issue?"

"No." She said,

"Yeah, it's the overcomplicated interface, right?" He said clicking his tongue, "I knew that the design was off."

"You know it won't bring her back, Ray?"

Ray nodded, his usual jovial nature left as he became more sullen. "I know, but I can ensure no one else has to suffer the same fate. It's not some idea I got from a cartoon, once you have suffered true loss, you will do anything to stop others from feeling it."

"I have a friend in a similar position, I tried to tell her, and now I'm telling you. It's not what Anna would have wanted. You are risking your life to play hero!" Why couldn't Ray or Laurel grasp that she was just telling the hard truth they didn't want to hear?

Ray stood still; his jaw clenched. "You are working through stuff, fair enough. We can talk about it, or I can listen. But never again tell me what Anna would have wanted. You don't get to do that, not ever."

Felicity wiped her eyes off her tears, and muttered her apologies, and left the office.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Roy finished dishing out macaroni and cheese with vegetables, he placed them on the small dining table, and adjusted Connor's bib, before sitting down opposite to Thea, "Listen, while you have been working at Verdant, or taking your turn being out in the field, I have been doing some digging. Some of it involved omitting the truth, and… fraud… but I have some information on Brickwell if you decide not to completely follow Laurel's orders."

"Mama?" Connor asked, playing with the stringiness of the cheese in his bowl.

Thea mussed up his hair while Roy smirked as he spoke, "Yeah, Con-Man, Laurel is Mommy."

Thea looked up at Roy, after giving her nephew a small kiss on his temple, "What about Brick?"

"I don't know how accurate this is, but I think I know how our favorite Brit is circumventing the FBI asset freeze. He funnels his money through Samcorp, which is a shell corporation that owns the majority share of the hotel. And he keeps it in an offshore firm named Red Lion National Bank."

"Mama?" Connor asked again, looking around the room for his mother.

Thea looked at Roy, with a heartbroken expression. How do they tell him that she is gone and may never come back?

Roy leaned over and tickled the inquisitive boy, "She's out Con-Man, but you have your Aunt Thea and Uncle Roy to look after you, which means so many more tickles!" He said as he started tickling Connor's ribs, his cackles filled the room, forcing a smile on the two adults as they listened to the infant's contagious laughter.

After they put Connor in his room to play, Thea sat next to Roy, on the sofa, her head resting on his shoulder. "I went to Ollie and Laurel's earlier because Conn was complaining about not having his dumb hawk. Anyway, when I did, I saw the dark sunglasses she was wearing when she met me at Verdant was on the coffee table."

Roy hummed, "How was she, I know that you already spoke about her telling you what to do, but…"

Thea sighed, "I've never seen her so broken. I think that a part of her died when Ollie did… I really thought she was going into the light, she was talking... I mean really talking about how she was struggling and thought she was coming out the other end before her entire world was pulled out from beneath her. Ollie and now Brick. We have to stop Brick before Laurel does something monumentally stupid and impulsive."

"We will try, but we don't have any concrete evidence on Brickwell, nor do we know where Laurel is. When either of us got close to where she had been, she disappeared." When they got an alert about the Hochman Hotel and a Woman in Black, they had arrived to see FBI agents carried off to the ambulances. And no sign of Laurel, she was a guerrilla, using hit and run tactics.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Laurel had been waiting in the small medical room, preventing her boredom by looking around the room, particularly at both the door, and the chart that optometrists use to assess your vision. After waiting almost ten minutes, the door opened, and Laurel jumped off the medical chair, to see a male nurse walk in, and gave her a small smile before looking over his chart in his hand, "My apologies for the long wait." He then gave an extirpated sigh, an exasperated sigh before he gave her a rough cheek of her facial bones, "Good news, no dislocations."

She could have told him that. "Thanks, so I'm going to leave now." She said while adjusting her jacket over her shoulders.

"Not just yet, unfortunately. I'm sure you know how it is to be a slave to paperwork, Ms. Drake. An enormous waste of time if you ask me."

Laurel, without thinking, raised her hand to her necklace that held her wedding ring close to her chest. She had forgotten to leave her ring at The Bunker or in her apartment. She didn't leave Connor with anything to remember her or Ollie with. She cursed herself, internally telling herself that she is a horrible mother.

She broke out her darkening self-depreciative thoughts, as she heard a mental drawer open and the nurse spoke to her again. "I will just have to check your throat and eyes for any underlying injuries."

He walked over to her with a small blinding flashlight, "Just look up for a sec."

Laurel gently moved his hand that held the torch away, "No, please just hand me the paperwork."

The nurse nodded, his lower lip covering his upper lip, "No dramas. Let's get you out of her." He opened the metallic drawer, "I forgot to mention, if you come down with any headaches, or issues breathing in the following days, make sure that you…"

The nurse spun on his heel, lunging at her with a syringe without warning. Laurel blocked the attack with her arms, only to receive a prick in her right hand before the men were able to inject more than a small amount of the drug, she smashed her head into his nose, while he was stunned from the heavy blow, she sent an elbow strike to the side of his head, knocking him to the other side of the room.

Laurel shook her hand that was still stinging from the needle that was still in her skin. She panted as she ripped the syringe from her hand and dropped it to the ground, clutching her injured hand. She felt slightly dizzy, as she bolted to the door, turning the knob in haste only to realize that she was now locked in.

"Shit!" She swore. Laurel grabbed the knob more firmly and attempted to force the door open with her strength and weight to no avail. "C'mon." She growled as she kicked the steel door. The room started to look wobbly. She then rushed over to the window that had steel mesh covering the windows preventing the exact thing that she needed to do. Escape.

The phone in the room blared, after sending a half-hearted hit to the mesh, she turned to the phone and made her way towards it curiously.

A cold shiver ran down Laurel's back upon hearing the voice on the other end of the line. "You're not Sara Drake. No one is." There was only one person that she knew that held that distinct voice and accent. Daniel Brickwell. She curled her hand into a tight fist.

Laurel exhaled, feeling slightly tired, and not from the small brawl with the nurse. "Brick." Whatever that was in the syringe must have been some sort of depressant.

"I always wondered how you survived Iron Heights. The Arrow may have saved you in the end, but the maths don't add up, you may have your…agility and tenacity, but The Green Arrow won't save you now, Ms. Lance. I have you now."

Laurel turned slowly around looking for a security camera when she found one on the corner facing her, the small red-light blinking. "What did you drug me with?"

"I was not in Iron Heights at the time that Sara Drake visited the penitentiary." He said in his defence, with a proud tone. "An interesting choice of name, your deceased sister, and your mother's maiden name. A sentimental girl at heart aren't we, Darlin'?" Instead of waiting for her to speak he continued, "It's been a while, but I wonder… Do you recall the last time we spoke?"

"I remember." She replied. She should have ended all of his plans and machinations back then. Taken a photograph of her injuries and leaked it to the press, to her father, or Pike. He may have had influence within the confines of the prison. Her pride had prevented her from getting the police or the media to deal with him.

"You told me that for the cost of a postage stamp you could prevent my reunion with the only person who gave my life meaning."

Just as he was now preventing her from being with her baby. The only person that was keeping her sane and motivated to fight. Perhaps he was right all those years ago, they had a lot in common. Laurel panted as she used her hand to stabilize herself by leaning against the wall.

"I would have let it be like water off a duck's back if you had just targeted me. Instead of just threatening me, you targeted my son. You threatened Sammy, and that is not something that I can forgive." He growled into the receiver.

"I want you to listen to me very carefully…." The dial tone pulsed through the line. "Brick!" She slammed the phone on the hook and turned as the door buzzed and unlocked.

Of course, she thought. Brick was greasing the palms of almost everyone in the prison. It was obvious in hindsight that he would still have his finger in that particular pie hole. Laurel mentally kicked herself for forgetting what he was like in their last meeting, even if she had other things to occupy her thoughts. Her family. The machinations of Merlyn and Slade Wilson. Before she went for the door, she gave a final glare back at the camera. Laurel sent a silent promise that she would stop him, as the red light flickered off.

As she walked into the hallway, a large man in a prison jumpsuit walked out from his cell down the opposite end.

"Is that her?" Another asked.

"A pretty thing, isn't she?" Laurel unbuttoned her jacket and was glad that she had opted for her current footwear over her usual heels that would normally accompany the look. She turned her head slightly to see another few prisoners coming from the other direction preventing her escape. She was boxed in.

As the first man lunged for Laurel, she ducked and delivered a punch to his jaw before slamming his head into the wall with a loud thud. The force leaving a dent in the wall.

She skidded back, narrowly avoiding another strike from someone off to the side, she sent a kick to one, the man fell to the ground, she blocked the incoming punch from the other, she sent him over her shoulder and delivered several hard blows to his face.

Laurel was swept off her feet and slammed into the wall, forcing the air from her lungs. Laurel was quickly pinned to the wall by her throat. She gasped, before adjusting her neck and biting into the man's wrist, giving her enough time to send a strike to the man's jugular. In return she was thrown into a smaller man before the man that fell with her could move, she slugged him in the face.

Laurel got up slowly, too slowly for her liking, and tried to deliver an upper right cross to one of the incoming convicts, only for him to easily dodge, and knee her in the stomach and throw her back against the wall.

Taking a deep breath, Laurel ducked under a hard punch; the man tried to dislodge his hand from the wall. Laurel took that advantage and proceeded to slam his head into the hard wall. As the man slumped to the ground, Laurel turned to receive a hard blow to her ribs.

Groans from all involved echoed through the two adjoining hallways.

She was grabbed and held above their heads and shoved easily into the wall. She had to be careful not to use her cry.

Two men remained, with her in the hallway that were conscious. Both men came from opposing sides, she lunged towards one, using her hand on the ground as leverage, she sent a hard kick to the prisoner's groin, only to be grabbed by her hair, and thrown back into the hospital room.

Laurel spat out a mouthful of blood, her forehead ached and could see a crimson bead dripping down past her eye. She took another two kicks to her side, before she managed to grab the syringe that was injected into her and stabbed the needle straight into the man's leg, pulled him to the ground, and pulled the metal cabinet that the nurse had utilized onto the man.

She haphazardly made her way out of the medic's room, using the walls as a crutch as she made her way down the hallway, panting and feeling every inch of her body, ache, burn and sting.

"I made it out, Connie." She mumbled under her breath as she opened the door, only to see two guards in full riot armor and gear at the other end.

"On the ground!" One barked at her.

Laurel raised her hands slowly, still feeling some of the effects of the drugs, or was it from the fight, she couldn't tell. "Hold on, please…" She slurred. "I was attacked."

"Get on the ground now!" The other ordered.

Laurel was beginning to suspect that just like the felons earlier, these guardsmen were Brick's men. And yet, she tried again, hoping that it wasn't the case. "Please! Help me, I need help now." She looked down at her charcoal grey jacket and pants, blood splattered on it, and the pits of her jacket had ripped. Her once white blouse was splattered with red, hers, and the prisoners.

"Put your hands behind your head and get on your knees!"

"Fine." She reluctantly conceded.

The men upholstered their tonfas, "We got her now, Sir." The first guard said as the duo advanced on her. "She will be taken care of."

Laurel grabbed the second guard's wrist, deflecting the other guard's strike, she was taken by surprise by a slug to her head, dazed, the two guards pelted her with their clubs. She had to survive, she had to protect Connor and Thea.

Brick had cut off the security feed, Laurel remembered. She released her cry.

_SCREEEEE_

Her Canary Cry the two men backwards, one only back slightly, the other took the brunt and was launched backwards, she grabbed the tonfa, feeling the familiar weight in her hand, and thrusted the baton under the guard's riot helmet, knocking him out.

The guard that was flung, raced towards her, colliding with her and sent her to the ground. She blinked, using her elbow, Laurel leveraged her body up, to escape his entrapment, and picked up the tonfa and proceeded to hit the man repeatedly until she was no longer a threat.

She stumbled past one of the cells, for someone to grab her hand, "Nice one, girlie, now grab his keys, and we can have a nice time."

She ignored him, and took several paces forward, only to be halted by a blaring alarm, and amber lights flickering. The strobing lights and the deafening alarm exacerbated her already growing headache.

She could just hear over the hollering of the felons, and the alarm, someone over the PA declaring a lockdown on the block.

As she slowly made her way down the hall, a burly man jumped out from the shadows, and grabbed her, one hand around her neck, the other tightly holding her arms against her torso. He dragged her into the darkness. Laurel swung her head back, only to be thrown against one of the metallic gates, and pulled into a storage closet, before being shoved against the wall, with a sharpened toothbrush resting against her neck.

"Brick backstabs everyone!" She said quickly, "He will turn on you. Brick will flip on you, too." She repeated, praying that he would not use his blade.

"Who are you, Darlin'?" Asked a man with a thick Irish brogue. "And why does Englishman want you six-feet under?" He then said something in a language she didn't understand.

"What is that? Gaelic?" She panted, as her face was still against the wall. "You Liam?"

"You are a stupid lass for coming here. All the things that could happen to a pretty bird such as yourself, by the hands of men starved of a woman's touch. Brick still controls half the guards and prisoners."

She smirked and noticed her blood smearing on the off-cream walls. "Not the Irish though, right?" She panted, "Not since he became a turncoat for the FBI."

The man that pinned her, swiftly, and without warning, released Laurel, she slid to the ground, panting, and looked up at the leader of the Irishmen, who was speaking to her, "Why does a girl like you care?"

"Brick hates me as much as he hates you. I was the woman who got him locked up, and I am going to do it again, for good this time."

The old balding man shook his head, despite his shorter than average height he had an intimidating presence. "Nah, I reckon you will die here."

"Why did he backstab you?"

"Doesn't matter, now."

"Matters enough that you needed to kill him for it. You failed once in here and once again outside."

"My, my for a lawyer you are very quick to point the finger at me and mine, and you would be wrong. My lads and I never tried to snuff him… in here."

"No. Brick was shanked in the weight room. I heard about it." The Irishman had to be lying or at least telling partial truths. She briefly wondered if Connor would follow in his father's footsteps when he became a young man. Someone who would lie and tell partial truths to get what he wanted. She hoped not. But then Oliver became a self-sacrificing man who would do anything for his family. She hoped their son would be more like Oliver once he knew who he was.

"Not by us."

"Let's say that I believe that." She conceded as she forced herself to her feet. "If not you, then who?" She panted again, "Listen if I do this, Brick ends up back here. On your turf. When he is in your domain, you can do whatever you like with him."

Liam snorted, looking between his man and her. "Brick set it up himself. He bribed a lifer to stab him."

"He set this all up?"

"It's not out of character for the slimy Brit. His pawn made him bleed enough to convince the Feds."

"Of course, it makes sense." He did say that he would spend more than a postage stamp. She should have kept an eye on him, in case it wasn't the heated words of someone licking their wounds. "This lifer, he still alive and in solitary?"

"No. Brickwell lined the right pockets and got the guy out. A free man."

Laurel could just make out the faint steps of the guards coming this way, over her thumping heart. , "Listen to me, we don't have much time. Guards are coming, give the lifer's name and I can get to him, he is the only lead we have to prove that Brick did this. Help me help you."

"How?"

Laurel sighed, "If I can get him… I can—"

"You can barely stand, Darlin'."

"Liam, please…. You took a shot and you missed. I won't. All you need to do is help me get out of her and give me his name."

Liam pinched the bridge of his nose and ordered one of his men to drag the guard inside, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the men dress up as the guards. "Lost good boys in that attack, my brother's blood. Find the inmate who shanked Brick and make good on your word. I'm betting a lot on you. You better make up in dividends, or we come and find you and yours."

She glared at the leader of the Irish, she hated that she had to broker an alliance with the man who would no doubt plague Starling as much as Brick or Ra's would. "His name?"

"Joe Chill." He then looked at one of his men, who was now dressed in riot gear. "Get her out of here, if anyone so much as puts a finger on her, I will gut them slowly with a rusted blade."

Her assigned guard grabbed her by the arm tightly and led her down the labyrinthian hallways, and as he led Laurel around the prison, she could only watch as the numerous guards attempted to quell the insurrection.

Upon making it to the exit, she heard the Irish convict call out to the other guards, "I got a civilian here! Get her out. Go!" She was then shoved into the arms of several guards, who led her outside, she could only cough as the smoke-filled her lungs.

The new guards practically carried her to the gate and bellowed at the gate guard to open the gate to allow her to flee in safety. She dragged herself to the taxi that was waiting for her and told him to drive before her eyes got too heavy to keep open.

She could just hear the radio mentioning something about The Queens rising back from the dead and something about Queen Industries.

Laurel now had a lead; she was going to get Brickwell for good.

:-: :-: :-: :-:

Thea shook Walter's hand. "I really appreciate you helping me with creating Queen Industries. I wasn't sure after everything happened with Mom…"

Walter gave her a fatherly smile, "Your mother had her own demons, Thea. But the sins of the father, or in this case the mother, is not the sins of the son, nor daughter." He then took a sip of his glass of water. "It should be rather easy to create your business, and I know which company you should make a bid for. I can do it for you if you wish?"

Thea gave him a genuine smile, one that she hadn't felt in a long time. "I would appreciate that, Walter. And you can be the CFO and acting CEO."

"Of course, working in the bank was rather dull. And for better or worse, we are family, Thea. Speaking of which, my only price is meeting the young lad that I consider my grandson and Miss Lance. And it looks like you could spend some time with your family."

Thea hesitated for a moment. "Laurel is busy, but I can certainly bring Connor. It's a deal."


	15. Played Like A Fiddle

Weeks ago, Ra's watched as the shell that once housed the man known as Oliver Queen was being molded as per one of the League's traditions. One of his horsemen wielded a long wooden staff, and asked the shell who he was, and would receive a beating when he answered incorrectly, and be corrected, before being thrown into one of the smallest and darkest cells in the dungeons.

The man known as Oliver Jonas Queen was dead, he perished somewhere in the mountains. The man in front of the now was someone else, something else, he was Wraith Al Ghul or at least will eventually become after his training.

But now was the time for his ascension from a mere footman in the League, to Heir To The Demon. He watched with a careful eye as Al Sah-Him approached the small dais as he gripped the leather strands from the device above him.

He took the hot iron from the brazer, "Any remains of Oliver Jonas Queen shall be incinerated by fire. As they metal burns into your flesh, as do any old remaining morsels of Oliver Queen loyalties. You will eventually rise to the title of Ra's Al Ghul, The Demons' Head but for now only The Arrow, Al Sah-Him remains, The True Heir to The Demon." He then held the brand to the man's shoulder blade, hearing the metal hiss, and watching Al Sah-Him's body tense. "Who do you serve?"

"Ra's Al Ghul, and the tenants of The League." Al Sah-Him grunted out of pain.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Siobhan Smythe and her fellow agent watched Daniel Brickwell eat his pizza with a knife and fork. She scoffed as she saw the strange sight, "Who the hell eats a pizza with a knife and fork?"

Before the other agent could speak, Agents; Talos, Watson, and another agent walked in. "Special Agent Smythe."

"Sir."

Talos then introduced another man who had walked in with her colleague, Supervisory Agent Johnston, an agent with the Office of Professional Responsibility.

"Smythe." The OPR agent said, "Why don't you grab a coffee? Do you some good, wake you up a bit?"

It wasn't a suggestion. Siobhan nodded and walked out, only to be quickly followed by Agent Watson. "Shivvy, don't let this rattle you."

"Let what rattle me?"

Samanda looked around nervously, "OPR has been granted a private one on one with Brickwell."

Siobhan scoffed, "Then why am I the only one kicked out? There is more to this." She had to calm herself, she remembered what Dr. Thompkins used to tell her when she was a child during her counseling.

Her work was her life, it was what gave her meaning, kept her on the straight and narrow since Charlie was killed. Prevented her from exploding.

"It would be inappropriate of me to tell you this, so I never said a word, you understand?" Siobhan nodded, grateful that she had someone in her corner. "OPR is looking into the discrepancies of the motorcade attack. Not everything sat well with your side of the event after forensics had a look."

"Because of you, Siobhan, my brother has someone that can pay for his medical needs, to remain comfortable." She then gave her a pat on the shoulder, before heading back into the surveillance room.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Ray flicked through his algorithms for his exo-suit when he heard footsteps behind him, "I was out of line."

Ray nodded, making his way to his desk, taking a seat. "Want to talk about it?"

Felicity exhaled, and braced herself on the office chair, "I lost a friend, and not long after he did, another left after we had an argument. "Felicity gulped down her anxiety. "My friend…She accepted that our friend… Her husband… He was gone and was burying her head into her... work and she just disappeared." It was an oversimplification. "But now he's gone, and so is she."

Ray looked at her, his face exhibiting nothing by sincerity, "I'm sorry. As for your friend, maybe the only way for her to cope is to focus on something that she can solve?"

Felicity nodded slightly, her lip quivering, "What makes this worse, is about three months ago, another friend died. I'm twenty-five years old, my friends shouldn't be dropping like flies. And I consider you a friend, and I tried to stop my friend from marching off to her own drumbeat and failed, but I can try to save you." She said handing him the chip.

Ray exhaled as he picked up the chip as he watched her leave. "I suppose it will be another drum solo." He then turned back to his algorithms and started to alter some of the data.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Arsenal and Speedy were patrolling and making regular stops at known League hideouts, while Diggle and Lyla looked after Connor for the night. They jumped into an abandoned apartment complex that had been utilized by Nyssa during The Siege in the hope that The League may have used it as an outpost, any way to get more information on The League and their plans.

They looked around the complex, "Overwatch, you there?" Arsenal whispered as he looked out the window to see the city that they were trying to keep safe from not just everyday criminals, but The League and Daniel Brickwell.

"_Still here, Arsenal."_

"Look into Red Lion National Bank." He turned to see Speedy glare at him, and from beneath her hood and mask, he watched as her hand tightened around the shaft of the bow.

"_Why? Is it relevant?" _Felicity asked after a few seconds.

Roy shrugged, keeping one eye on Thea and the other around the perimeter of the safe-house. "Potentially, just run the name, and anyone getting more money than they should be."

He could just make out the sound of Felicity hitting her fingers on the keys of her keyboard at a rapid pace. "_Look at us, the old guard has left, and the new guard remains. I will look into it now."_

Speedy shoved Arsenal against the wall and turned off his comms and hers as well. "What the hell was that? I thought that we were looking into Brick, just you and me? Digg and Felicity have made their feelings about Laurel clear!"

Just because they had closed ranks didn't mean that they couldn't use half-truths to get information. He had learned that from his time on the streets, and he had seen Oliver do similar things with other people.

Sometimes, the ends justify the means. Especially, when family was at stake or involved. And Laurel is his family. Just as much as Oliver, Thea or Connor.

"We need a name, and neither of us has time to hunt down people. This is easier, and it is relevant. We need all hands on deck to stop The League, right?" He asked his girlfriend.

"Right."

"Laurel is the most experienced person we have," Roy explained, gently wrapping his arm around Thea's waist. "We need her fighting alongside us, and not off on her own crusade. To get her to come back home, we have to wrap up her war against Brick up and keep her and Connor safe. We need to give her a helping hand whether or not she wants it. She would do the same for us if the positions were reversed." It's what family does for each other, isn't it?

Roy turned his comms back on, to hear the answer they needed. Josiah Beckett.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Al Sah-Him cleaned off his blade and panted from exhaustion. He had just slaughtered every man and woman of The Thanatos Guild. The Magician's splinter group of traitors. His blade had tasted the blood of Al Sah Her's second in command. A soldier by the name Athena.

According to their sources, the woman had been the one to resurrect Al Sah Her from the death at the hands of the late Oliver Queen, and Dinah Laurel Lance. By the order of Ra's every person was beheaded, and their heads were to be brought back to Nanda Par Bat.

The woman had also admitted to the conspiracy to murder Ta-er al-Sahfer before realizing that they were here to cleanse the world of their evil, and for violating guild law, not the murder of a woman that was not truly one of theirs.

Al Sah-Him sighed as he boarded the aircraft and closed his eyes, the next thing he noticed was watching as a dark-colored songbird with yellow flecks struggled to fly back to her nest, after being chased and attacked. Her wing looked broken, she could barely fly up to her nest, to protect her chick from the wolves encircling the tree. He Desperately wanted to protect and help the mother bird and her chick, but that was against the code. He was Heir to The demon, demanded that he does not show weakness, and yet he still felt a strange pull towards her, to her baby bird. A calling to protect them that he couldn't quite explain or understand.

When he moved towards the bird, to help the wounded bird to her nest, he was shaken awake by Sarab. "Nanda Par Bat is ten minutes away."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Siobhan walked into the surveillance room and told the other agent to grab a coffee, that she would maintain her vigil in the meantime. Once the agent left, she played back the recording of Brickwell and the OPR agent.

"_Who are these men?"_

_Brick looked at the photographs and sat back as if he recoiled slightly at the scene. "They were the Irishmen who attacked the convoy."_

"_Did you see the men fall?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Alright, did you happen to see who shot them? Or some sort of concussive blast, or sonic device?"_

"_There was only one FBI agent that remained standing. Special Agent Smythe."_

"_Can you describe what you saw, for the record?" _

Siobhan could feel her heart racing, as Daniel Brickwell's eyes glanced up at the camera for a moment or two, not long enough to raise red flags, but to her, it was like he was looking straight at her, into her soul.

"_They were armed, one was a metahuman. Special Agent Smythe gave them the chance to surrender but they attempted to kill her with their weapons and their metahuman. She killed them in self-defense. She is a heroine, a woman that deserves a medal not for saving me, but for protecting your colleagues. She went above and beyond with her valor."_

"_Thank you for your time, Daniel Brickwell."_

She had to know why he did it. She entered the code to turn off the security feed, and entered the penthouse, to see Brickwell sitting at his table as if he had been waiting for her for some time as if it were some grand strategy in a chess game.

"What's your game, Brickwell?"

"Game?" He asked, innocently.

"I don't need any favors from you, convict." She said as she went to leave. She couldn't stand the sight of him.

"Favors, no. But sympathy? Papers, protests, people making the institutions people trust, and the masses are forcing heroes like yourself to be ostracized. I can carry that burden of humiliation but you? A dedicated FBI agent, it is not just."

She knew in her heart it was true, she was being watched by her own people. Men and women she served with. Her brothers and sisters-at-arms. They had betrayed her, left her to the wolves. And yet, Siobhan turned on her heel, looking at the large man before her, "You don't know anything about me." It sounded hollow even to her ears, it was like he knew her.

"And neither does the media." The Englishman said as he tossed the paper at her feet. "They blame you and yours for a botched transfer. Blame _you _personally for the anarchy and the deaths that came with it. They want to crucify you for your exceptionalism. You saved my life! And the lives of the valiant agents who serve alongside you. They forgot to mention that instead they vilify and demean your act of courage and heroism. Let me be the first to thank you, Miss Smythe, for your courage."

Brickwell after a moment of silence rose to his feet, showing his hulking size, compared to her, "The world has changed, the real heroes are dismissed, antagonized, or ostracized. While vigilantes are given statues, for that… And for that, you have my utmost sympathies and respect."

While Siobhan turned on her heels to leave, Brick sported a small smirk as she left the penthouse unbeknownst to her.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Brick took a sip of his tea, as his lawyer informed him that despite the plan to eliminate Miss Lance, by drowning her inside a taxi, there was no one inside the vehicle. She was continuing to be a thorn in his side once again, she certainly had a habit of being a right pain in his arse! Perhaps he should go for the jugular instead of just playing with his food? End this game of cat and mouse forever.

Brick tossed his tea in the trash can and took a deep breath. "Please remind Mr. Beckett that I do not appreciate loose ends."

His lawyer nodded, taking a hesitant step towards him, "Of course, but let us not forget that the ocean currents can be strong enough to move almost anything, least of all a body. Even if Lance managed to escape the cab, she was doped up, how does a woman that was doped up swim ashore?"

"Does this look like a woman who was doped up to you?" Brickwell asked as he handed his lawyer a cell phone showing a recording of Dinah Laurel Lance fending off her attackers in the prison with remarkable skill before the feed was shut off as she was approached by guardsmen in riot gear.

"We investigated her thoroughly. Her associates, her family. Neither her father nor her mother had enough clout to sponge her _suspected _talents from her medical and school records. Not even The Queens, nor the Merlyns had paid people off for that. She is just an unwed mother, and a passionate lawyer, who was taught to fight by her father."

"Perhaps." Brick granted but felt that something was missing from a piece of the puzzle that was Dinah Laurel Lance. "Regardless, a woman capable of that can survive. She threatened to come between Samuel and myself, I cannot let a threat to my son roam the city."

Before Brick could continue, the main doors opened, with Agent Watson and Agent Smythe walking in and taking their seats at the table.

His lawyer smiled at the agents, "It's time for Uncle Sam to make good on his deal. Thanks to Mister Brickwell, The Irish Mob has been completely removed from Starling City. Their counterfeiting ring, their extortion and kidnapping days are over, all thanks to my client."

It was true, and it painted law enforcement in the area as being proficient at their jobs in the media and in the public eye, and not bumbling around in the dark waiting for the vigilantes to solve the issues. Perhaps one day faith in the system will be restored, and he will have the entire justice system in Starling under his thumb.

Samanda nodded, "And in exchange for his continual cooperation, the Department of Justice will be granting Samuel Brickwell to live with his father, once the necessary paperwork has gone through the correct channels."

Brick's lawyer tapped his finger on the desk, saying, "He is also entitled to the return of some personal possessions, and supervised movement within the hotel."

"Within due time."

"And that time is now, Special Agent Watson. Unless you wish for my client to cease assisting the FBI?"

"No." Brick said, looking at Siobhan Smythe with a softer look, before returning his focus back to Watson. "The FBI has sacrificed a great deal for me." He then back looked at Agent Watson, "And to balance the scales, I trust that you will honor your word. As a show of good faith, I have information for you. I have had a criminal under my employ, A facilitator, if you will, at my behest, she has laundered and stockpiled money, used her father's contacts to bribe or blackmail law enforcement and or court officials. She has committed many crimes in my name, as well as in others. This woman has organized people to perjure testimonies and manufactured evidence."

"Who is she?" Asked Agent Watson, leaning over the table looking at Brickwell with keen interest.

He internally smiled, Laurel Lance took Sammy away from him, he would return the favor, he would prevent Miss Lance from seeing her son, and the girl that helped bring him down, Thea Queen. "An Attorney, Dinah Laurel Lance."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Thea walked into a club that catered to the city elite that her mother and father, both biological and adoptive, had utilized. She walked around the rooms, seeing people playing chess, sipping on champagne or scotch and eating caviar and other delicacies.

Eventually, she found Josiah Beckett, sitting down sipping his top-shelf whisky and smoking a cigar, she had to admire the caricature of the evil businessmen that apparently flew over this man's head.

"Josiah Beckett?" She asked politely.

The older man looked up at her, with a fond smile, "Ahh, Thea Dearden Queen. It has been years since I saw you. I'm sorry to hear about your mother, I would have come to her funeral, but alas, I was on a business trip overseas and couldn't leave."

She wouldn't put it past this man to have worked alongside Malcolm in the past if he needed to persuade people. In fact, she was pretty confident that Malcolm had hired this man's specialty to have people unwillingly join Tempest, or at the very least, were associates. "Thank you for the sentiment."

"Whatever I can do for the daughter of… Moira Queen, I shall endeavor to do so." The way he phrased it, Thea was sure that he was about to say Malcolm Merlyn and not her mother.

Thea put on her fake smile that her mother had taught her, for when she was speaking to someone at a gala, that she had no interest in talking to.

Beckett truly had no idea what she was about to ask, "How about your involvement with Daniel Brickwell?" She licked her lips, and sat down opposite to him, as he stared at her, tapping the corner of the lounge suite he was reclining on. "Mom was involved with him through a benefactor, I promise that I will keep your name out of it. I need to ensure that my Mother's name can't be dragged through the mud again. I know that your true occupation is Mr. Beckett, a fixer."

The man sipped his drink and spoke without looking at her. "Roy William Harper, Connor Quentin Lance-Queen, John Thomas Diggle, Felicity Megan Smoak, Dr. Raymond Carson Palmer, and Bartholomew Henry Allen. I wonder what your mother would say about Miss Lance abandoning her only grandchild. Or what about Oliver handing himself to Nanda Parbat for a crime that he was innocent of. And her daughter mixed in with a former cyber-terrorist?"

Thea froze, wondering if she should take her nephew and Roy, and take up Malcolm's offer and disappear, and somewhere along the way, they ditch Malcolm himself. Connor would be safe, but Thea didn't know if she could live with herself if she let Laurel alone when she needed her family the most.

"And I don't fix problems, Miss Queen. I remove them, utterly and truly."

Thea couldn't manage to say anything, she just numbly left and headed out. How the hell did Beckett know that? And by extension, Brickwell? And more importantly what the hell was she going to do to keep her, Connor and Roy safe?

After she left the clubhouse in a hurry to ensure that her family was safe, she noticed she had several tales, she decided to keep in the light of day to deter the men from kidnapping her, or worse, it was extremely unlikely that it would occur in the daylight and in the open.

She came to a grinding halt when a black car pulled up right in front of her and two men climbed out wearing suits. "Miss Queen?" One asked.

Her eyes darted to the almost half a dozen agents that were approaching her. "Who's asking?"

"Don't move. FBI."

Thea stilled, and informed the agents that showed her their badges that she had a concealed weapon and a permit."

"Alright, just keep your hands where they are, and follow my every instruction, Miss Queen." Thea nodded, "Turn around." She felt her pistol taken from her, and her handbag as well.

"What do you want?"

The next thing she knew, she was driven to Oliver and Laurel's loft. The door had been battered in, she could see that one of Connor's toy boxes in the living room was opened and the contents a strewn over the ground. "Why did you bring me here to my brother's loft?"

An agent came from the apartment and stood in the doorway, "I told them to. Where is your brother?"

"Last I heard, somewhere in Europe or Asia, he likes to be alone." She then added, "He was on that island for five years, sometimes civilization can be a bit too much, I suppose."

The agent gave her a disbelieving look, "And so, he purchases a fancy loft for his Fiancée and son?"

"I don't pretend to understand my brother, maybe he thought that Laurel and Connor deserved to be happy and safe?" Thea said sarcastically. "After all, Connor is a Queen, and Laurel was soon to be one as well. We look after our own."

"We know how the Queen's _only _look after their own. Look at your mother and The Undertaking."

Thea ignored the snide remark and tried to look past the agent. "Is Laurel okay?"

The agent directed her inside Laurel and Ollie's loft. A place that she spends so much time in. A home away from home. She followed the agent, to see that Laurel had been back, and had gotten a new change of clothes. Her wet office clothes dropped on the stairs, as she was on her way to her room. Her white blouse was a red-coppery color.

Thea prayed that it was her blood, or at the very least that it was only a small portion of it.

"When was the last time you heard from Laurel Lance?"

Thea swallowed as she remembered the memory, seeing her sister in Verdant. But she would protect her family, after all, she was the sole witness, and the recording of the two of them at the bar had been wiped. If Thea can't follow Laurel into hell, she could at the very least provide support when she could. "Almost a month ago?"

"You haven't seen her for almost a month, maybe more? What about Connor? Where is the boy?"

"Friends of mine has him for the day, Connor likes to play with their daughter."

Agent Watson clicked her tongue and then pinched the bridge of her nose. "And did your brother or Miss Lance give you any indication when they would be back?"

"No."

"Whether she would be back at all?" Watson pressed. "They ditch their son, a dead weight, onto you, and live happily ever after on an island resort, perhaps the one that they found Oliver on?"

Thea bit the side of her cheek, at that remark, "No. They aren't like that Agent…?"

"Agent Samanda Watson." She answered, by flicking through their letters, "If they are gone, and dumped their unwanted baby onto you, why are you paying their bills?"

"I'm Ollie's sister and more or less a surrogate sister to Laurel. I've known her since… Almost forever. The three of us are close." She then glared at the agent. "And if I have to, I will teach Connor about how generous and selfless his parents are."

"So, let me get this straight, Miss Queen. You pay the bills of two deadbeat parents, who have disappeared and you have not even filed a missing person's report?"

"It wouldn't be the first time they had left. I know they will come back when they are ready. I'm sure that you can understand me not wanting to prematurely have Ollie or Laurel be declared dead in absentia, especially after Ollie survived his five years on a stranded island. "

Agent Watson pointed at Laurel's soaked clothes. "Would Dinah Laurel Lance go on the run?"

"No, why would she? I just told you that she was likely with Ollie."

Watson looked unconvinced, "You were a secretary slash paralegal for a small law firm, CNRI, correct? The same firm that Laurel Lance was the founder and owner of?"

"Yep."

"When did the firm start working with Daniel Brickwell? Before or after Joanna de la Vega was murdered?"

Thea screwed up her face, what the hell was this fishing exhibition for? What the hell was Brick telling them? "We never worked for him, we put him away. How about looking over the case files and the minutes from the court records."

The Federal Agent then pulled out a piece of paper in a zip-lock bag, "Is that your signature, Miss Queen? A from the chased cheque from Confederated Global?"

"Laurel and Jo took them on for one case. One, and that was all."

Agent Watson hummed, "According to my source, that business was a front for Daniel Brickwell."

"We didn't know that at the time."

"But you do now?" She asked Thea, with a smile that indicated that she was putting Thea where she wanted her, "See how your last answer wasn't _technically _accurate? Never worked for Brickwell, except for the fact that you did."

"How's this for a statement?" Thea sneered. "We never knowingly worked for Brickwell. How were we supposed to know that of all the businesses in the world that that particular one was a front for that bastard? Besides, we were approached by a third party."

"Who?" Samanda Watson asked as she stepped closer to Thea.

"Some business executive, a bald African American man, I think."

The FBI agent walked away to grab a photograph and held it up for Thea to see, it was the same man that had hired CNRI. "Was it him?" She asked, "You remember him?"

"I think so, why?" She knew the bastard alright, he had insinuated that she was only hired either to entice clients or because Laurel was a nepotist.

Samanda Watson shook her head dismissively, "Just putting the puzzle together."

"Ooh, puzzles. I can hand you a few more pieces: Josiah Becket. Red Lion National Bank, Samcorp. Do any of these take your interest? Ring any bells or are you dead set dragging two-thirds of my remaining family through the mud?"

"I don't follow."

Thea chuckled, they only had the pieces that Brick had spoon-fed them, he had the FBI wrapped around his pinkie. "Instead of allowing your institution and you be Brick's puppets to attack innocent lawyers who put him in jail. How about you put his feet to the fire? Ask him about his fixer, Josiah Beckett, who launders money through Red Lion National Bank, and ask him about Samcorp."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because that company, bought most of the company that owns that nice hotel that keeps your so-called prisoner safe."

"How do you know all this?" Watson asked, her eyes narrowing at Thea.

"The Queen name is still respected despite my mother's actions. When Brick was put on _house arrest_, I put my ear to the ground, apparently, I'm better at your job than you are. Perhaps you would like to give me a reference?"

The FBI agent scoffed, "Theories, rumors, and hearsay. Any actual tangible proof, Miss Queen?"

"Brick uses people, that's what he does. He's a master manipulator, and you are marching to his tune."

"That's not a yes." She said not looking away from Thea.

"Am I under arrest?" She asked, cutting her off from further questions. Watson shook her head and moved to the side to let Thea leave her family's loft unmolested. As Thea walked past the door, she noticed Laurel had set her two rings on the table, with a swift and graceful swipe, she took the rings and pocketed them. She knew that it was Laurel's way of giving Connor something to remind him that his parents loved each other, and loved him.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Diggle was walking out of ARGUS headquarters, after a brief meeting with Waller and Lyla about some rumors of someone fitting the description of Oliver Queen was spotted in Cairns, Australia, along with men in black ninja costumes.

He stopped pushing the dual stroller, to allow Lyla to adjust Sara's dress. He looked up to see a woman approaching him, "You, John Diggle?"

"Yes, Ma'am." He said, as Lyla stood up, she palmed her sidearm. "Identify yourself."

"Special Agent Samanda Watson. FBI" She said, as she flashed her badge.

Lyla relaxed, "What can we do for you?"

Samanda ignored them, as she knelt down next to the little boy, "What's your name, Little Man?"

"Connor. The boy's name is Connor", Diggle said gruffly.

Samanda looked into the boy's Connor's green eyes which were looking at her with childlike curiosity. The agent stood up, looking at Lyla and John. "Where is Laurel Lance?"

Diggle shrugged, "No idea. Perhaps she's doing her job over in Central City? Or Gotham?"

"Did you know she worked for Daniel Brickwell almost two years ago?"

Diggle crossed his arms, allowing Lyla to look after the babies, "No, from the way I understand it, she worked tooth and nail to put that son of a bitch behind bars, if her father was here, he would tell you the same thing. She made our streets that little bit safer."

"When was the last time you saw Miss Lance?"

"Mrs. Queen, actually. I officiated their small wedding. The last time I saw her was months ago when we had an argument of the best interests of her child. I suggested with the terror attacks and Brick coming back, she may want to bunker down for her son's sake. She disagreed."

"So, she left her son with the man that she disagreed with?"

Lyla shook her head as she handed Connor a piece of fruit. "No, Thea's still a young woman, and no matter how much she loves her nephew, she needs a break. To be free. I offered for us to occasionally look after Connor. Any other questions regarding Mrs. Queen and her son call me during office hours when I am here at ARGUS."

"That won't be necessary, but one or two questions, if you would, "Why didn't Thea correct me about her brother's nuptials?"

"She's been through a lot. Sometimes things like that slip through the cracks, after all, she has always known Laurel as a Lance, it will take some time."

"And did ARGUS give her a false ID? Under the guise of Sara Drake?"

"We only give our agents and those close to them that sort of package, and you would know that when you have already called Director Waller. Sometimes a dead end means that you have to reevaluate what you know, and not just believe that everything is a conspiracy against you. Just a free piece of advice from one Federal Agent to another."

Diggle looked at Watson, "What did Laurel do with that ID that she acquired?"

"She entered Iron Heights prison, falsely using that identity. Her sister's name, and her mother's maiden name. She then made contact with an Irish gang, linked to the murder of nine federal agents."

"We are not involved with whatever she is doing, but with due respect, you have her all wrong," Diggle said with a low growl.

Watson sniggered at the thought that she could be wrong about Laurel. "That's your prerogative, but I don't think I do. I think that Laurel Lance-Queen is hiding a double life. A lawyer by day and a criminal by night. "

She then leaned in closer to Diggle, "And you and Miss Queen know all about it. It makes you uncomfortable that you are complicit in her activities. And that is why you had an argument with her, you were telling her to back off, and she wouldn't listen. From the reports we have on her she is stubborn and passionate." She speculated, before smirking, "Her father and grandfather had the same reputation both on the Force and in The Bureau. They wouldn't stop until they had what they wanted, an apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

She then moved back, "When she is caught, and she will be. You know that you will be dragged down with her."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Laurel dropped onto the futon, feeling exhausted, every inch of her body ached. Ted had just left the storage locker and was headed out to get them some dinner, now that he had just stitched her up. The next thing she knew, Ted had just woken her up with a small shoulder squeeze.

Her mentor handed her a foil container that by the looks of it was lasagne. Her stomach growled. He then placed a drink beside her. By the looks of the logo on the food dish he had gotten the food from a diner daughter in The Glades, is known to make everything they have on the menu by scratch.

When she glanced at the logo on the smoothie cup, she felt her eyes water. It was from a small smoothie bar on the outskirts of The Glades, it was also where her Dad took her and Sara when they were kids. Ted had remembered her telling him about it back when he started training her. A subtle reminder that she still had people that loved her, including those on the other side.

He had lost his family, and here she was abandoning her own, screaming that the rules were not fair. "Why are you helping me, Ted? You should hate me, I left my baby. I abandoned him."

"Do you like the lasagna and strawberry smoothie?"

"Yes."

"Then shut up and eat your food." Laurel snorted slightly, as Ted chuckled. His usual gruffness somehow made her feel less burdened. A sense of normalcy.

After she had eaten a few mouthfuls of her food and a couple of gulps of her drink. Ted spoke again, breaking the silence. " I could never hate you, Dinah. You are like a daughter to me. And while I don't necessarily agree with you cutting all ties with everyone, I get it. But Dinah, we can't separate ourselves from our family, or friends. They are a part of you, some will even carry some of the burdens if you need to." He then took a mouthful of his own dinner, "Just… be careful, Dinah, that you don't become the monster you are fighting."

Laurel nodded at the last statement that if all went to plan she wouldn't have to kill. She could show herself, show Brickwell, show Connor that she was better that she didn't resort to killing. "You have been here giving me advice, even when I didn't want it. Providing me with healthy foods, ensuring that my clothes are clean."

"The thing about family, Dinah, is that it's about people caring for each other. You have more than me in your corner."

"Thea, Roy, and Connor. I do miss them."

"What about baby steps? If you have the name of the lifer, give it to Roy or Thea and ask them to give it to a journalist they trust. They would just be a middleman, nothing too dangerous… or more dangerous than going out at night as a vigilante."

Laurel nodded as she slowly took another mouthful of her dinner. She has Brick in her crosshairs now, all she had to do was get this lifer to testify and she and her family would be safe. Even if Ollie wouldn't be there.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Later that night, Diggle brought Connor back home to his aunt, he knocked on the door, and handed the sleeping boy into his aunt's arms, "They know that she is hiding something, Thea." Thea tucked Connor next to Roy, who secured the sleeping infant, so he didn't fall. "This is bad, Thea, we could go to jail, all our work for nothing."

"Digg."

Diggle wiped his face with his hands, letting out an annoyed growl. "We should not have known her secret in the first place, I should have kept Oliver away from her. His whole legacy is down the drain."

"No. No one could have seen this happen, not even Oliver." Roy said from his seat, "We will try to contain this, you guys keep hunting for The League and we will try to help Laurel."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Roy had been playing with Connor when he heard some movement in the small room that Thea had told him that Laurel had once used as an office, and where they would hide their suits and gear. He gently told Connor to be quiet, and slowly got up, grabbed a flechette from his dresser, and slowly walked out to see Laurel, wearing a black leather jacket, a hoodie, and a lower face mask.

She lowered her mask and hood. "Hello, Roy."

Just then, in the blink of an eye, Connor was half crawling, half waddling out of his room, his face brightened as he saw his mother. "Mama!" Laurel slowly walked over to her child lifting him up and whispering sweet things in his ear, and Roy could also hear her apologize to him profusely.

Roy smiled as he watched his nephew-in-all-but-name reunite with his mother. It was a tender display of love and regret. It was further proof in his eyes that Laurel was not going on a revenge-fueled murder-suicide crusade against Daniel Brickwell. This was about survival: Laurel was putting her life at risk by keeping herself in Brick's cross-hairs to keep the ruthless bastard from moving his eyes towards Thea or Connor.

He had always thought that Oliver had the mantle of being the person to be prone to self-sacrifice, but this year, Laurel has proven a worthy contender for that mantle.

"You know, we are going to need that rent you owe us," he said dryly before leaving and going to the kitchen., hearing Laurel follow him, and hearing her hiss slightly as her son touched the swollen angry wound on her forehead.

"I'm alright, Connie, Mommy fell." He was way too young to know the truth.

She then put him in his playpen and hovered by her son for a long few minutes before Laurel stood sat next to Roy on his couch, "I can't protect you, Speedy or Connor, not from Brick. I've got his attention now."

"Let us worry about ourselves. Thea and I look after him, and when we can't we ask Walter, Digg or Lyla. Connor's safe. I promise I will die before anyone harms my honorary nephew." He then turned his head looking at Laurel who looked black and blue, "I heard you visited, Thea. And around the same time, she lost a few hundred dollars. How about you ask this time? Remember that we are family, no matter how Diggle and Felicity feel."

Laurel looked slightly abashed before regaining her somber composure. It looked like she wanted to apologize, but she was on the clock. "Brick ordered his own stabbing. It's how he manipulated those in power to get him the penthouse suite. He got a guy with two life sentences, a man named Joe Chill to do the deed. In payment, Brick allowed him to walk out of prison. According to all the paperwork, Joe Chill is in solitary confinement, when he is walking around without a cage."

"Need help?" Almost immediately and without hesitation.

Laurel hesitated for a second, before looking towards her son. "I need to find him to prove it. I need you to find a journalist to speak to him, and we can send him back to prison after he is exposed."

"That's a tall order. I suppose we could ask Iris, but doubt that her father will allow that, let alone Barry. Give me time and see if I can arrange it. But I doubt it." Roy then looked at Laurel curiously, "You taking Connor with you, wherever you have been hiding for the last few months?"

Laurel was silent for a very long time, her inner turmoil painted on her face as clear as day. "No... As much as I would love to have him nearby, but as long as I am in Brick's cross-hairs, I need to keep my distance from Connie." She exhaled audibly, "I know that it may not seem like it, I even have had my doubts, but I'm doing this to protect him. I don't care if you believe me, but please look after him. He's all I have." A small tear cascaded down her cheek, the salt of the tears stinging her cut on her cheek.

Roy gently patted her arm, in an attempt to reassure her. "You know we will, it is kind of like that old saying about taking a village to raise a kid or something. And you are wrong by the way. I know that it feels like you can't trust anyone, or that this is only your fight, but Laurel, we are family, I hope that you will see that soon before it's too late that you have more than you realize."

"Thank you." Laurel gave him a grateful smile that didn't reach her eyes, and walked over to her baby boy, picking him up, as he played with her hair. "I will miss you baby. Mama loves you. And I'm so sorry that I have to leave again, but I promise after I get the bad man to talk, you and I can be together again."

Laurel's eyes welled up again, as she placed a kiss on his forehead, lowering him back down, and walking slowly to the open window, looking over her shoulder for a final time, almost as if she were reconsidering about not taking her son with her before Laurel raised her mask and hood.

Roy could help but feel relieved despite Laurel leaving. Her heartfelt apology and her adamant stance showed him that Laurel wasn't going at it alone, or trying at least. It wasn't about vengeance. It was also not the first time that Laurel during her self-imposed exile that she had visited her family. Perhaps, some part of her knew that she wasn't alone, or knew she couldn't do it alone. That she needed to lean on her family.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Siobhan woke up in a deep sweat, watching Victor Zsasz carve his knife into Charlie as if she were just a piece of meat, a toy. She could smell the blood, as Zsasz carved up her Charlie. She could hear the man chuckle and even lick the blood off his knife just to add a new dimension to the killing, all because they wouldn't back off from the case.

The FBI had been hunting lunatics for close to five years, the sick bastard even had the notches and tally's that he had carved into himself as some sort of sick record. Only now, he couldn't hurt anyone. The only thing she could never find was Charlie, Victor Zsasz had let her escape, but her fiancé had to be left behind.

She answered her phone at the first ring, from an agent-based in Central City, that they had found Charlie's body, apparently, his body was found, and his location and resting place was anonymously tipped off by a Good Samaritan.

And a part of her knew who she owed for allowing her fiance's ghost to finally rest in peace. Daniel Brickwell.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Felicity and the team sat in the bunker as they discussed the newest chain reaction of Brick coming back into Starling, first it had been Laurel going off the deep end and go one a one-woman crusade, abandoning the crusade she and her husband, Oliver had started. She left behind Oliver's son. She couldn't imagine a reason why a mother would abandon her child. Wouldn't it have been safer and more intelligent for Laurel to pack Connor and their belongings into a car and disappear?

It's certainly what she would have done, there was no shame in running away to keep you and your loved ones safe.

Instead, they had to deal with the fallout of Laurel poking the bear, making them draw their focus away from Oliver's killers, The League of Assassins, and protecting the city. Instead, they were worried about the FBI, and Brick himself, out of the entire group that sat around the table, only Thea had a beef with the large Englishman.

And while that was tenuous at best, Thea wasn't as involved with Daniel Brickwell as much as Laurel was.

Diggle looked at Thea and Roy, "I'm surprised that she had reached out to you two, even more so that she would ask you to look into Joe Chill. Laurel must be certifiable if she would even ask you to put your neck on the line, even after shirking off her parental responsibilities on to you two."

Thea tucked her hair behind her ear, glaring at Diggle. "She's under a lot of pressure! She asked for help! You two." She said, pointing at Diggle and Felicity, her eyes not giving them any quarter. "You told her that Brick wasn't a threat. She knows him better than anyone. If Ollie had come to you telling you he was a threat, like he did with Slade Wilson, you would believe him in a heartbeat."

"Thea, that's not fair."

"Bullshit! And as for my sister handing me _her _baby and my nephew to look after and care for while she protects him, from Brick, that's between her and me. A family matter! Something that you are not privy to! Roy came back to help protect the city, he decided to help me look after Connor."

Looking after and protecting her nephew was the universe's way of letting her atone for releasing the drawstring of the bow that killed Sara. Thea just wished that it didn't come as a consequence of Laurel's turmoil.

Felicity took her glasses off, and wiped them down, before looking back at her two teammates, "How come she visited both of you, and both times, neither of you managed to put a tracer on her?"

Roy shrugged, taking a sip of his bottled water, "Neither of us was exactly prepared for her to turn up. Lest we forget, she was trained by a sniper turned vigilante. She has learned how to disappear and reappear. Besides, if she found the tracer, she wouldn't come to us in the future."

Diggle raised his hands, playing the peacemaker. Right now, they don't need to be fighting amongst themselves. "We should help her."

"Come on, John?" Felicity said.

"Hear me out, we get the information, and we have Felicity anonymously send it to Iris and a number of other journalists. No need to put our eggs all in one basket, but we do it on the condition. Laurel turned herself in to the FBI."

"What? No!" Thea cried out. "Didn't we specifically try to prevent the same thing with Ollie and Roy? Why are we even thinking about tossing her to the side?"

"They are only sniffing around us because they are looking for Laurel. Once they have her…"

Thea vehemently shook her head in disagreement. "She can't, she would never agree to that, she has Connor to worry about."

"She didn't think about him when she left." Felicity retorted.

Why didn't Diggle and Felicity grasp that Laurel was both putting distance between herself and Connor and her? That Laurel has shielded them from Brick's onslaught?

Thea stood from the table and was only calmed by Roy's hand gently holding her forearm, "Laurel left Connor with his family. People that love him. I love him. It's not like she just got up and left him. Besides, I know her, this is hurting her as much as us, if not more."

She and Ollie had a habit of putting aside their grievances in favor of doing what they believed was the right thing.

Diggle continued, looking at Thea warily, "There's no reason to think that the FBI knows anything about Laurel's other life, but if she can give them that witness, she will be in the clear and can come home. Then so are we."

Felicity looked at Thea, "If we are to do this, where is she?"

"I don't know, but I know someone that does, Ted Grant." The question was, would Laurel's mentor and like an uncle to her would close ranks and keep his mouth shut to keep Laurel safe and away from them, or would he help them to help Laurel?

As much as Ted seemed to like her, she held no delusions that his loyalty remained solely with Laurel. He, like Laurel and Ollie, would do whatever it took to protect their loved ones, even if they burned bridges with others in the process.


	16. Black Canary vs The Canary

Siobhan sat watching Brickwell in his newly decorated penthouse, gone was the spartan decor, the rooms were now furnished with ostentatious furniture and decorations. He wore a fine black suit, and silk cravat, he wore as if they were normal clothes that you would wear when you were home instead of some ratty shirt and comfortable pants.

She kept wondering if she was right to kill Victor Zsasz all those years ago before she joined the army, and later The FBI. She had used her scream to impale him on a piece of rebar and use her power by delivering it straight into his ear canal. How she relished in the thoughts that his brain matter had been liquefied within his skull and dripped out of his ear.

Siobhan looked at her co-worker, "I will feed the animal, you get us some coffee."

The other agent snorted, "Your neighbors are still at it? Perhaps you should discreetly slip a marriage counseling brochure under their door. Don't worry, I've got you." He said as he handed her a tray of food and left the room to get them some coffee.

After her co-worker left, she turned off the recordings of the penthouse and quickly made her way to the apartment. She walked in to see the well-dressed man waiting for her at the head of his table. It made her feel like some sort of glorified waitress. She hated that. She had a superpower, a sonic scream. She was an FBI agent and a soldier in the army before that. Both jobs kept her on the straight and narrow, especially after she lost Charlie.

"I don't know what you were expecting when you pulled strings to have Charlie found, but they teach us how to avoid being entangled by the webs you are spinning at Quantico. So what?" She asked with a small snigger, "You have me followed for a few days and think you know me? Well let me save you the trouble, you don't." Brickwell only stared at her, in silence, her eyes twitched as she smacked his plate of food away, "Say something!" She needed to know why he was doing this! Why did he care? Why he found and delivered Charlie's body back to her.

"Before I became the man I am now, I killed the man who had beaten my wife within an inch of her life, she later succumbed to her injuries in the hospital. I was robbed of years of happiness and bliss with my beloved. And yet there I was, killing the man with my own hands." He then stood up, and though his once hulking, intimidating presence was not there, he was sympathetic, a gentle giant. "That moment of anguish, I sense a kindred spirit in you. You hid behind fictitious stories that allowed you to walk amongst the people of this world. A former patriot, doing her duty, worked as a team and grew close with a gallant man."

He then took a small, almost timid step towards her. "Society will never understand your convictions, your drive, how you avenged your man. It punishes misunderstood people like yourself. Like _us_. Society despises people like you. A person with powers. "

Siobhan shook her head; she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She wasn't like him, was she? She exhaled, avoiding eye contact with the man, and left the room as quickly as she could. Siobhan raced back to the surveillance room, going over her convocation with Daniel Brickwell in her mind.

As she did, she almost missed what her partner said, as she entered the room with the coffee, "Siobhan, it's on the news." He said as he gently placed the newspaper in front of her that had a picture of her, with the headline reading: '_**FBI Investigates one of their own.'**_

"I'm sorry, Siobhan. It isn't right." It felt like the world around her was closing in, and Siobhan couldn't breathe. She needed something stable to hold on to, to guide her.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Thea waited in front of Wildcat's gym when she saw Ted walk outside and was preparing to enter his car. "Ted?"

"What's up, Thea?" He asked as he sat in the driver's seat, and she quickly sat in the passengers. "Something tells me that you are not looking for training again?"

Thea looked at her sister's mentor, "You know how I asked you to keep an eye on Laurel? That's why you're here in Starling, right?"

"I'm a man of my word." He said as he put his keys in the ignition.

"I just really need to speak to her." She said, "I know that it is likely in your code or something to keep her safe, to keep where she is a secret because you consider her a daughter or a niece. But I really need to talk to her. I'm her family too."

"I don't know where she _currently _is_,_ Thea." Thea nodded sadly; she had hoped that he would have known where she was.

"Oh, sorry to bother you, I just thought that was the reason you were in Starling." She said defeated, as she slowly climbed out of the car.

Before she could slam the door shut, she heard Ted. "Some bloody their fists to keep Starling safe. And others do it to protect those that they love because that is what families do."

"I said that. Family protects each other, I told her that when she came back to me..." Or at least something similar.

"I don't know how much you know about how she first came to meet me. But she was alone in the world, her boyfriend, your brother, at the time looked like he had a secret rendezvous, on the Gambit. Her mother had abandoned her, and her father was in no position to help her, so she fled. She came to Central City and started to get into fights. I had heard of this woman using a baseball bat to protect women at night. She was undisciplined and in her private darkness. One day, I followed her home, and watched her throughout the next few days, she pretended to be fine, she would study, hang out with friends and the like, but she was plagued by her thoughts, her grief and didn't know how to channel them."

"I knew bits and pieces, less than Ollie but more than the others…" Thea revealed.

"Dinah is one of the good ones. Willing to put her life, her body, and soul on the line in order to keep someone else safe. Even if others don't understand, she will stand up for those that can't protect themselves. A blessing and a curse, especially as a parent."

Thea closed the door and watched Ted drive away, knowing there was no point in tracking the car, as he would have dumped the car before he made contact with Laurel. The old man could be cunning when he wanted to or needed to in order to protect Laurel. That is where his loyalty will always lie, with Laurel. Thea supposed that despite the fact that Ted was obviously either bending the truth or lying to her about not knowing where Laurel was, she should be happy that despite the schism of Starling's vigilantes, Laurel had someone other than herself and Roy to protect her, and hopefully talk her out of some of her more Lance gene induced impulsive decisions. She idly wondered if Ted was trying to get Laurel to make the first contact with them before they could work together?

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Siobhan sat in front of Agent Talos and the OPR agent, as they spouted nothings and false promises. They made an oath to her that they would find whoever leaked the information. It didn't change the fact that she was being pushed aside, pushed aside for doing the right thing. A small voice whispered in her ear, that perhaps Daniel Brickwell was right all along. People like them were always to be shunned. Perhaps they could look after each other from these backstabbers and conniving shits.

"Think of it as a paid vacation, Smythe. Many would kill to be paid to relax on a pacific island, perhaps the Canary Islands? Vanuatu, or Trinidad and Tobago?"

She reluctantly handed her badge over to Talos, followed by her Glock. Silently, she walked out of the room, and down the hall and down past the bullpen, feeling all the eyes of her colleagues on her, looking at her with false-pity, condemnation, and distrust.

She heard his cockney accent in her mind, "_Society will never understand your convictions, your drive, how you avenged your man. It punishes people like yourself. Like _us_."_

_Us._

Siobhan walked past the bullpen to see Samanda walk around the corner, she stood in front of her, and lowered her voice, "Do you have a sec?"

Samanda looked around nervously, before speaking, "Uh…Yeah, Sure Siobhan." She then took her to an office that was empty and locked the door behind them."

"They are putting me on leave, Sam. They—Uh…." She stammered trying to find her words.

Watson put her hand reassuringly on Smythe's shoulders. "First things first, breathe. In and out. Everything will be OK," she said as she looked at the door, to see if anyone was behind the frosted glass doors.

Smythe squared her shoulders, "Look me in the eyes when you say that to me."

Samanda looked her in the eyes, "Listen, I'm on your side."

She couldn't have this job, she needed to keep out the memories of Charlie being tortured, and killed, as well as her killing Zsasz. She needed this job to keep her mind straight, "I can't lose this job. Please, there has to be something that you can do."

"I commended you on your report. You have nothing to worry about." Watson tried to assure her.

No. She had everything to worry about. And she had no in the Beaurau that would have her back.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Arsenal looked down at the derelict building in The Glades, a known crack den. Word on the street was that Joe Chill frequented the area to get his daily high. While Laurel didn't have the idea that he should find Chill, she should have anticipated that he and Thea would have done something more than play an auxiliary role. He would get his hands dirty to protect their family. Laurel would have done the same if the roles were reversed. If Oliver was here, he would be leading the charge.

Arsenal slowly descended from the building, and with a grapple line, he slowly entered the drug den, thanking God for the fact that Laurel had saved Thea from a similar fate.

Empty cans, and bottles of beer, and liquor were littered around the various rooms, eventually, he was stopped by a man who looked completely out of it, "You lost, Red?"

"Depends." He said as he slammed the guy against the wall. "Where is Chill?"

"Upstairs somewhere, Discount-Robin Hood." Arsenal sent a sharp jab to the side of his head, and walked up the stairs, looking at all the people who were coked-up, a few who had blue lips and their skin gray.

The Ruby Archer made it to a small living room that had a man that looked at him calling him an angel. He smirked, and knelt down to his level, "I need to know where Joe Chill is."

"Why?" Asked a cold voice from behind him, Roy turned and rose to his feet. "Everyone out!"

Roy watched as all the druggies vacated the area, in an almost zombie-like state. "Joe Chill?" Before he could make her move, he was pulled back and received several jabs to his side, Arsenal launched his elbow backwards, and used a spin kick to send his attacker back, when Roy looked back at Chill and saw Laurel in her makeshift suit, she was The Canary of Starling City.

Roy fought alongside Laurel as they both ducked and weaved, defending each other. "Long time no see, Canary." He then noticed her old bird locket was hanging from her neck. "I see that you haven't completely abandoned your family." He said with a gesture of his head.

"Now's not the time, Arsenal," Canary grunted as she flipped a man over her shoulder and into the mantelpiece, before tucking her medallion necklace back beneath her jacket.

Roy shot an arrow at a fleeing man, as Laurel hauled Chill up against the wall, and without seeing, she reared her elbow back, knocking out someone trying to flank her in an attempt to save Chill. "Calm down!" She growled, before kicking him behind his knees and kicking him in the side of the head, knocking him out.

Arsenal looked at Thea's sister and she certainly hadn't lost her touch, after being away from the good fight. "Alright, the team has decided to help you. Speedy and I convinced the others, but…"

"You want me to turn myself in." Laurel finished off her friend's thought. She sighed, "I don't like it. But if that's what it takes, I will do it."

"What if they figure it out about… Everything else?" Roy asked. " I mean they haven't shown themselves to protect their wards very well. Brick was attacked in the motorcade. What if they can't protect you?"

"I've been thinking, this mask hasn't been doing me any good. The duality only works when only The Canary has a target on her back, not both her and Laurel. Besides, if I do get imprisoned, I will find a way to get Brick. If he can bribe and manipulate people…"

He didn't like the thought of Laurel doing anything dangerous or ordering a hit on Brickwell from behind bars. And he didn't doubt that within time, she would be able to do so. But that wasn't who she was. Laurel didn't murder people.

"It won't get that far; we will solve it legally. I know the old saying about a fool for a client, or whatever, but Thea has already decided to be your second, and will be talking on your behalf, or helping you build your case."

Laurel didn't say anything for a few moments, only looking at the unconscious form of Joe Chill. "He can't be interviewed here; Brick and his lawyer will claim coercion." She finally said, breaking the silence.

"Makes sense, Iris has come from Central City and is waiting at Verdant. We will get him on record in front of witnesses." Roy then watched as Laurel told Chill to wake up and haul him to his feet, before tossing him into a bean bag.

"You must have won the lottery, Chill. I'm going to give you a choice. Option one: I call the FBI, and your pal, Danny Brickwell, will have you killed before you can utter a word, about how you escaped Iron Heights. Option two: You willingly cooperate with this nice man in red, and he will take you to a journalist, and you tell the truth about everything regarding Brick, then I will let you run off to go hide in some backwater ditch where Brickwell will never find you."

"I can't." He rasped.

Arsenal snorted, "Guess he picked the mystery box, Canary."

"Option one it is, Mr. Chill," The Canary said in a dark tone.

Chill recoiled backwards, looking at both vigilantes in absolute fear, "No, if I talk, Brick kills my son!" He then looked over at the teenage boy who was passed out on a nearby couch. "I used to live in a place like this, in Gotham. I killed a rich couple and their son. They were old money. I left my son without a father. And this is what he did with his life, If I go back inside, he will be sharing a cell with me or worse."

Laurel looked at the boy and saw Connor. She looked like she was imagining this was his future without her, without Oliver in the picture, She closed her eyes and shook her head, as if reminding herself that in the worst-case scenario, Thea and he would protect her baby.

Arsenal knelt down in front of the man. "You have uncaged a monster, Mr. Chill. Now, you can either come with me, and prevent more families falling apart, and withering away, and have the ability to disappear, look after your son, atone. Or you can say nothing, and since I already recorded this nice talk, I will give it to my reporter friend, and she will publish it anyway. They don't need to adhere to the pesky rules a court does."

He looked between the two vigilantes, "I thought you were supposed to be good guys? The Birds of Prey? You would truly get us both killed?"

"You have hurt people I care about with your actions, regardless, you have a choice." Arsenal then looked at Laurel, who seemed slightly amused at the fact that he was assumed to be Thea. "What? People seem to confuse me and Speedy all the time, I think it may be the bow." He said with a wry smirk. "I enjoyed working with you, Canary. Hopefully, we can do it again."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Al Sah-Him, Sarab, and a small contingent of foot soldiers converged around the small villa in Corto Maltese. As several masked men entered the villa, they were skewered by arrows.

Sarab looked towards The Heir to The Demon. "Ra's wishes to see how you deal with Al Saher. The man has been able to flee from The League, and has been able to survive death at the hands of guerrillas, the vigilantes of Starling."

"He will be captured and sentenced for his crimes." Al Sah-Him said as all the soldiers converged on the mansion at one point, allowing Al Sah-Him to enter the mansion through a side window. The assassin crept along the wall and halted at the doorway. He took a deep breath, to listen to his target.

Swiftly, Al Sah-Him pulled his bowstring and aimed it at Malcolm Merlyn. "Al Saher, Ra's Al Ghul order's your return."

Malcolm's lips moved into a sinister smile, "I have no intention of going anywhere, I'm not sure that you, Oliver, would like the consequences of forcing me to do something against my will."

"Oliver Queen is dead."

"I always thought of you as a son, Oliver. That's why I acquired your help, Oliver. I am proud of you, as a father would be for his own son. You know what that is like, don't you? To be proud of your son?"

"I have no offspring as of yet. No future heirs to replace me when I ascend to Ra's Al Ghul."

"Then you are truly lost." Malcolm let out a guttural growl, as he tried in vain to defeat his many foes. Several men fell to the traitor, Al Sah Him moved in slowly unsheathing his blade.

"Are you going to kill me, Oliver? Get justice for _your _wife, Laurel? For her sister? For Tommy?"

Al Sah-Him ducked under Merlyn's blade, slicing the older man's hamstring. Malcolm fell to the floor, crying out, not before pulling out a small tactical knife and slicing the Heir to the demon just below the neck.

The man that was once Oliver Queen grunted and sent a forceful kick into Malcolm's side, and tossed the knife away, and wielding his sword with both hands cut off Malcolm's sword hand. His opponent cried out in pain from his injuries. Malcolm's teeth clenched as he glared at Al Sah-Him with teary eyes. "Knock him out and bind his wounds. Ra's Al Ghul wants him alive."

He felt a small amount of relief as if he had performed a task that was beyond Ra's' commands. It felt like he was delivering justice to the man at his feet.

"Your revenge will be short-lived, Oliver. Your son, your sister, and your wife will not live to celebrate my death. Their days are numbered without me. I can help you! I will shoot an arrow into Daniel Brickwell's eye."

A figure of a well built dark-haired man with an eye-patch appeared suddenly in his mind. The face brought many emotions and feelings; Anger, respect, regret. And yet the face was once of a stranger. It was curious that mentioning an arrow into someone's eye would evoke such an image.

Sarab, using the tang as a concussive weapon, hit _The Magician_ on the back of the head knocking him out before several assassins started to staunch the bleeding and prepare him for travel back to Nanda Parbat.

"You are injured, you should have it tended to."

Al Sah Him touched the gash below his collarbone. The wound felt like a reward, a symbol of him not just following his Liege's will but something that he couldn't quite explain. He wanted to wear the future scar with pride.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Thea sat in the FBI conference room, in her best court clothes, she pulled her phone to look at a photograph of her family, all of them standing in front of the mansion, Laurel standing next to Ollie, who held onto baby Connor, their mother and Quentin on the other side of Oliver, and she and Roy kneeling in front of the four of them.

She pocketed her phone as the agent walked in. "Special Agent Watson."

Agent Watson looked at Thea with a skeptical glance, before shaking her hand, "Miss Queen. I'm glad to see that you have decided to help us, with your sister-in-law."

"I'm here to speak on Laurel Lance-Queen's behalf." She was then handed a document that she had signed in Laurel's hand, a trick she had learned during her time with CNRI.

Watson sighed, as she took a seat at the head of the table, a power play, "So when I asked about her contacting you…"

"I didn't lie. I was contacted by her this morning; my sister-in-law is willing to be questioned."

"Miss Lance is technically not married, she and Oliver never filed for a marriage license." She then cocked her head, "As to your Miss Lance showing up, that is the best news I have heard today." She then looked around the room, and towards the door, "Where is she?"

"Safe. I will bring her to you tonight. After you have heard the statement from a second witness, who shall convince you of Laurel's innocence"

"Led on a wild goose chase, you mean?"

Thea gave her an almost proud smile, "You will wanna hear what Joe Chill has to say."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Laurel slowly put on her suit jacket, feeling her entire upper body protest at the movement, once it was finally on, she heard Ted speak to her, "It's a miracle, Dinah can actually dress like a human being, and not a street urchin, or a hoodlum."

"I have my moments." She replied with a smile tugging at her lips, as she tucked her canary pendant beneath her blouse.

Ted tossed her a pair of clean socks, "This about Thea coming to visit me?"

"Her, and Roy. Yeah, they had been working in the background apparently. I'm going to meet Thea soon."

"She certainly is a fiery one. A stubborn girl to boot, I wonder where she learned that?" He asked with an amused smile, happy that she was no longer working alone. "She loves you know. And it goes to show that you were being an idiot when you said that your friends and family were a hindrance to you, your hubris. It's your strength, Dinah. I didn't train someone who could be forged into a weapon that I could aim at thugs. I trained a girl with a gentle heart, a woman that I am proud to see as a daughter or a niece. A woman who gave me a family after I had lost my own."

"I love you too, Ted." She said as she wrapped her arms around him, feeling like perhaps she was finally making strides in the right direction. "Thank you for giving me the push in the right direction."

"Where are you headed to, then?"

"The FBI."

"You have to be yanking my chain, Dinah." He said, sounding unamused as if it were a sick joke. "And you need to dress up in a lady suit for that?"

"I have been falsely accused, Ted. I need to clear my name."

"The Canary's name or Dinah's?" He asked, "If you are leaving Dinah behind, then what does it matter what people think about _her_?"

"Something Roy said, he said that we are a family. My actions reflect on them…. On Connie. He doesn't deserve that, and my life is more than messy enough to also be a wanted fugitive."

Ted smiled slightly, he was testing her, she realized. "I'm glad that you are finally seeing it this way." He then pulled out a chair and started cleaning his old boxing gloves from his ring days. "Keep your head on a swivel, Dinah. The FBI has shown itself to be less than satisfactory in protecting their own, let alone people in their care."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Samanda listened as her boss told her of her promotion, that her hard work and diligence with Daniel Brickwell had paid off, and trumped their concerns about her credit debt. She was over the moon and smiled proudly.

"That's not why you are here though?"

"Lance's sister-in-law promised to hand her into us tonight." Talos looked up and waited for the other shoe to drop, "Only after we listen to the testimony of a witness who claims can vindicate Lance's innocence and prove that we have been manipulated by Brickwell."

Talos looked up, face not exhibiting emotion, "She's gotta be pulling your leg?"

Samanda shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe, but she claims the witness is Joe Chill. The guy who shanked Brickwell, the man that according to the books is in solitary confinement."

"That proves that she is making shit up, Watson." Her Supervisory Agent said with a proud, almost smug smile, as he reclined in his office chair.

Agent Watson shook her head and pressed the palms of her hands onto the desk. "I said that the book said that. I called the warden. Chill is MIA. They searched the prison from top to bottom, making sure that he wasn't hiding in the walls, or pulling some sort of Shawshank shit. Someone let him out and hid it."

"Damn." Talos sighed, as he leaned forward. " If Miss Queen is correct, do you think that Mr. Chill will prove anything?"

"It has to be bullshit." Watson said, "Brickwell's intel is clean, and we have twenty-four-hour surveillance on him." It had to be some sort of wild goose chase that Dinah Laurel Lance was leading them on. She is a lawyer. Her father was a police detective, and her grandfather was a fellow FBI agent. She knew how to play the game and run loops around them, and made it seem like she was innocent.

Perhaps Joe Chill was one of those red herrings that Ms. Lance released into the wild. If Ms. Lance was truly innocent that meant all this, Brick's intel and the loss of fellow FBI agents were all for nothing. She would be the laughing stock of the FBI and wouldn't have enough money to provide treatment for Georgie.

"Which means it has to be a bluff. It wouldn't be the first time that an accused person attempts to grasp for straws to save their hide."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Siobhan Smythe was contemplating what she should do, her life was ruined, she would never be accepted in the world She was alone, and under siege, no one to guide her or protect her. No one understood that.

Her thoughts broke when her phone vibrated. She picked up her phone to answer it. "Hello?"

His oddly comforting cockney accent was heard on the other side. "_People like us are not truly alone. I accept you when no one else does. I will not shame you like everyone else. You are not alone, Siobhan. I have sent you a gift, an opportunity to become your true self. If you accept this gift that I had fashioned for you, know that you have made a friend for life, someone who will never abandon you."_

Siobhan wiped her tear-stained face and moved towards the door after someone knocked. She slightly opened the door, to see a finely dressed man. "A town car is waiting for you, madam. If you will follow me?"

"Who are you?"

"Josiah Beckett, Ma'am. A mutual acquaintance of ours would like me to escort you to get your gift."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Thea sat beside her sister in all but name, glad to see her out in the light of day, and looking like Laurel, and not The Canary of Starling City. "I missed you," Thea said as she wrapped her arm around her sister, enjoying the feeling of having her back. The woman that has had such a profound impact in her life was back.

Laurel smiled, handing her a small box. Thea opened it, to see a cheap plastic purse with Speedy Gonzalez on it, in a plastic sleeve and sniggered, to which Laurel followed suit, "I was going to put money in it, but if you lift the wallet, you will see an IOU."

Thea sniggered again, remembering what she said to Ollie when he had asked her how she got her code name when they didn't know he was The Hood. "I think I have enough money not to worry about a few hundred dollars. I have been rebuilding Queen Consolidated, under a new name, using both Malcolm's inheritance and what Mom and Dad left me." Thea looked back at Laurel, who looked like she had been through the wringer. "You sure you wanna do this? We can find another way?"

She had started to get influence in the more affluent parts of town, with Walter's help. She had acquired some hotels and some other businesses that were about to go under. With Walter's help, she had managed to buy out Kord Industries. She also had her sights on getting her father's applied science division back into her family's hands. It's what her Mom and Dad would have wanted."I had to use what Mom left both me and Ollie… I know that you had a right to that money… Mom had said that you and Connor were entitled to if anything happened to Ollie..."

She watched as Laurel's bruised lips inched upwards a little. "Does Connie have any rights to the business or money when he comes of age?"

Thea scowled slightly, did she really believe that she would leave Ollie's only son, Laurel's son, out to dry? Even if Connor was just Laurel's son she would give him a stake in the business when he came of age they were family. "Of course. I wouldn't disinherit or steal from him."

"I'm sorry. I'm just tired." After the year that Laurel had endured, particularly the last few months, Thea wasn't surprised and granted that it entitled Laurel to be a little snippy. "We will think of it as moving assets rather than stealing or whatever."

Thea nodded and rubbed Laurel's back in small circles. "You confident that this FBI agent is clean?" Laurel asked.

"She's a bitch but seems to genuinely want to see the truth. I trust her."

"I'm sure if you are."

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Roy walked in with Joe Chill into Verdant to see Iris and an older man waiting for them, near the manager's office. Iris looked at the man, before looking at Roy, "I got your message, and my editor, he wanted to hear this for himself. He thinks this will be important coverage that could back Central City Pictures, a national paper.

The man shook Roy's hand and gave a slide glance to Chill. "Larkin. Eric Larkin. Why am I missing my wife's office party? And had to come to a different city?"

"This is Joe Chill, he's here to go on record," Roy said, pushing Chill slightly towards the two reporters.

"And you, son, what's your name?" The senior reporter asked, looking at Roy.

Roy looked at several of the new waitstaff that were around Verdant learning the ropes, "Jason." He then looked at Iris, who promptly helped him,

"Jason was just helping me; Chill is the guy who shanked Daniel Brickwell in prison," Iris added quickly.

Chill nodded, looking between the two reporters praying that he was doing the right thing. "Brick made me do it."

Iris' boss seemed to believe them. They then walked up the stairs, to where the interview was to be recorded. Iris sat down, as her boss took notes, "How do you know Daniel Brickwell?" Before Chill could answer, the lights died, as if someone had turned off the power supply.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Laurel turned her head and she could hear screaming from somewhere above them, as they were in the old bunker of Verdant.

Thea quirked her brow, "What is it? Did you hear something?"

"Screaming." Laurel murmured as she cocked her head to the side.

"How?" Thea asked, sounding amazed and intrigued.

Laurel bit her lip, "Ever since…. Since I have been gone, my hearing has improved. I can hear things."

"Maybe another part of your meta-gene, according to Cisco, Barry is learning new things about his physiology, makes sense that you would have more than a high-pitched scream." Thea then added. "I wonder if Connor will inherit his courageous mother's gifts?"

Laurel cocked her head and instead of joining in with her sister's banter could hear more screaming, "Speedy, get Iris and Roy out of here."

Thea gave her a proud look at seeing Laurel being the leader she had been when they were partners, she missed not working side by side with her sister. "You got it, Sis and be safe." She said as she sprinted out of the basement and upstairs.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

The waitstaff turned as the doors opened from the main doors. "There's no nightclub tonight." The bouncer said, only to be hit with a tonfa and having his neck snapped.

The dark figure then threw their knife into another person's neck, killing them instantly.

Roy peeked out from the window to see the woman, who looked like Black Canary repeatedly slam a woman's head into the side of a table. Even though the person was dressed as Laurel did, coattails and all, the way she moved told him that it wasn't _their _Canary.

As he rushed over to Thea's office desk and pulled out a pistol, he heard Iris tell her boss that anything he saw in regard to the identity of anyone but themselves and Chill was to be forgotten. Those lives were at stake.

The man agreed, with a rapidly fearful nod of his head.

Thea ran up the stairs as the killer framing Laurel finished killing another member of her waitstaff. The woman gave a cruel smirk before opening her mouth to use her cry, as she did, it clashed with another, Laurel's.

The clashing of the two cries made every loose item in the nearby vicinity fly away from the Black Canary and her evil twin.

Thea turned around beaming at her sister. Laurel was in her makeshift Canary suit, ripped black jeans, combat boots, and a black hooded leather jacket over a blue tank top. Her lower face was concealed by a lower face mask.

For a long few seconds, both Canaries were silently mad dogging each other, waiting for the other to make the first move, while they circled each other.

Thea took that moment to run around Roy, and up the stairs, to help them down into the Bunker. Ollie had designed it to be a safe-room as well as a headquarters, between herself and Roy, along with Laurel distracting the bad-canary, she raced in, telling them to follow her, she looked at Roy, not needing to explain what she had in mind.

By now, Laurel and the Canary were circling each other over near the stage, far from the Bunker.

Laurel glared at her imposter, "Who are you?"

"I'm surprised you don't know, I'm Black Canary." She said with an amused smirk. The way the woman said it sounded like a sick joke to her ears.

Laurel ran in, sending jabs and elbow strikes, to which The Copycat-Canary returned with more ferocity than Laurel was expecting. Each blow Laurel received made her long for the protective suit that her doppelgänger was wearing.

Laurel ducked under a roundhouse kick and swept her leg at the copycat, putting her off balance and stumbled back into the tables and chairs. Laurel advanced upon her, kicking the closet chair at her evil twin, only for Faux-Canary to roll backwards, and tossing plates and cutlery at her so that she could regroup, and to keep Laurel on her toes.

Laurel blocked them, receiving the majority of the cuts and hits on her forearms, Laurel bobbed and weaved and sent a snap kick, sending the woman to the ground.

The woman spat out blood, giving her a bloody smile, before hitting Laurel with a cry, sending her back towards the stage, Laurel managed to take cover behind the heavy tables, only for them to be removed by more screams from the evil canary.

Laurel rolled behind a cement column, knowing that she would be safe for the time being. Laurel then used her own scream to knock down more tables, to allow her to get closer, the second thing she did then used her cry, shattering all the lights, making the entire club almost too dark to see a few feet away, in any direction.

She ducked as low as she could to use the cover, to sneak up on the other woman, only for Laurel to be flung back, hitting the side of the bar, and felt something sharp pierce her chest, she was knocked out.

Siobhan panted and pulled out her small flashlight, spotting the bloodied, unmoving form of the Black Canary. In the distance, she could hear the sirens wailing, it was showtime. She would prove to Daniel Brickwell she was someone to trust. That his faith in her wasn't a mistake.

Down in the now-empty bunker, sans the couch, pushed up against the door on the stairwell, was flung off its hinges, sending both the door and the piece of furniture flying, the couch moved so fast, that Roy didn't have time to shove Iris out of the way, that he dived in front, taking the sheer force, knocking him out, and a piece of the debris hit Iris in the arm.

Thea watched her boyfriend save Iris, and by the time her eyes returned to Laurel's twin, the woman used her cry, stunning them, allowing this Fake-Canary to twist the gun from Thea's hand, and shooting Iris's boss, and shooting Joe Chill point blank between the eyes with no hesitation.

Thea glared at the woman who had blood splattered on her face, both from her duel with Laurel and from Iris's boss and Chill. Thea squared her shoulders, drawing herself to her full height that her petite frame allowed, and stood in front of Iris.

This Banshee, disguised as The Canary, quickly disassembled the gun in a few seconds, dropping them carelessly on the ground. "Hello, Thea, a pleasure to see you two again after my time away."

Samanda Watson ran through the doors of Verdant to see a few waitstaff flee, she called out to them asking what they saw, but these men and women were too scared. Lance was finally showing her true colors.

She pointed at a colleague, "Debrief them," She then looked at the other two agents, "You two, on me."

Laurel groaned as she came to, she crawled out to the side alley, a knife protruding from her shoulder. Why was it always her shoulders?

She hauled herself behind a dumpster, only for Thea to find her, "Jesus, Laurel…" She whispered frantically, "Are you…?"

"Roy…Iris?" She groaned, feeling woozy.

"They're fine, worry about yourself for one goddamn minute Laurel. The world will keep spinning if you worry about yourself for a few minutes."

Laurel shook her head, licking her coppery tasting lips, wincing at the touch, "Chill? He's dead, isn't he?"

Thea sighed, lowering her sister's mask to make her breath easier, "He's gone. I'm sorry."

Thea helped her sister stand, as watched Laurel roll her eyes back in frustration. "I have to find my doppelgänger, you…you make sure that Iris and Roy are safe."

"Laurel… I can't leave you in this state…" She said pointing at the knife lodged deep in her sister's shoulder. "You will bleed out, you need medical attention!"

Laurel shook her head and waved away Thea's hand from the embedded blade, "Roy…Iris…Don't need a pissed off speedster on top of everything else. Tr—Trust me, Speedy." She had already seen what a pissed off speedster was capable of, she wouldn't be able to deal with him, Brick and her evil twin.

Thea gave a hesitant nod and ran back to help her boyfriend and Iris. Laurel would also need as many witnesses in her corner to say that it wasn't the actual Black Canary that had killed all those people.

Laurel hobbled down the alleys hearing the FBI behind her, she cursed internally that Brick had turned people, cops, agents that would have been in her corner into an army hellbent to stop her. She hid in an alcove, seeing a beam of light just miss her.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

Thea sat down on the ground, with an unconscious Roy on her leg, as if it were a pillow, Iris sitting on her other side, looking pale, Thea supposed that despite the people with powers over there that has been dubbed as meta-humans in Central City. It seemed that they were never this bloody and dangerous. He eventually woke up, reluctantly instructed him to take the back entrance, and head home. Roy couldn't be seen here.

Samanda Watson walked down the steps, spotting the to women near the two bodies of Joe Chill and Eric Larkin, and once she made it to the duo, she knelt down in front of Thea and looked at who was staring at the last hope she had to prove her sister's innocence. Joe Chill. The basement of the nightclub had broken furniture and tables strewn about, splinters of wood decorated the floor.

Watson studied the body of Chill, when a different agent walked in, "Who did this? Who could do this?"

Watson turned slowly, "It was the Black Canary." She said with anger, ignoring Thea and Iris' protests, the women were unreliable and too entrenched in their friends and family's innocence, despite evidence to the contrary.

**:-: :-: :-: :-:**

After hearing the agent's radio, about a violent crime in Verdant, a nightclub that was under the management of Miss Thea Dearden Queen, after the agent left in a hurry, Brick walked up the stairs to his room, and into his bedroom, and finally into his walk-in closet.

He had the penthouse specially designed to have a secret passageway to the apartment below, he pulled the secret lever, and hauled the shoe rack to the side and descended the stairs to where he had his computer and televisions.

He didn't need to be out in the world, he had as much influential reach as he needed within the confines of this hotel.

He flicked on the television to the news,

"…_rushed to the emergency rooms of two hospitals, one person is in critical condition. But what we do know is that according to eyewitnesses, the brutal attack on Verdant, a local nightclub that is involved in the gentrification of The Glades, was carried out by no other than the Black Canary."_

Brick then switched to another channel. His smile grew wider.

"_The former heroine hadn't been seen for almost a year, the woman that had put her life and body on the line to keep the streets safe has now become the city's enemy. The city leadership has begun to question if putting their trust in vigilantes was a ticking time bomb, this comes after the Green Arrow was also arrested and later killed in prison ..."_

Brick couldn't suppress his massive grin, he had turned the cops and the public against her, Detective Lance and Hilton were not alive to try to prevent the manhunt for the avian thorn in his side now. She was a dead woman she just didn't know it yet.


	17. Consequences

Laurel turned to glare at Ted, as he followed behind her, "Ted, he didn't just have someone jump in my suit, he had someone wear the suit who is just as skilled as I am, if not more. I lost, and now that I had delivered my only witness to prove my innocence to Brick on a golden platter! Chill is dead and leaves a son behind! A boy who was already teetering on a life of drug abuse!"

"I will have a social worker look into it, have him sent to Central City, get him clean, get him a job, and teach him how to box. I will ensure that he is safe and looked after."

Laurel clutched her wound with the towel that Ted had given to her after he had taken the embedded blade out of her shoulder, "What if that was Connie! If Brick has his way, my son will be taken from me! Ripped from Speedy's arms!"

"Dinah..."

"I couldn't believe that I was arrogant enough to believe that I could have cornered him. He's too cunning for that!" She yelled as she paced back and forth. "I'm such an idiot!"

"Dinah…"

Laurel continued, she needed to vent, and she had to get this off her chest. "Speedy, Roy or Iris could have been killed. And there would have been nothing I could have done. Nothing! I risked my baby's two guardians, the last of his family."

"Dinah!" He raised his voice, making Laurel still, "You are losing blood, shut up, stay still, and let me stitch you up, or I swear to god, I will knock you out, and use the flare from my car to cauterize the wound!"

"No! I listened to you, and I almost lost everything. I'm an idiot for believing that you were right, that Speedy and Roy could be I should lean on them. I didn't anticipate how cunning the bastard could be." Brick was always a couple of steps ahead of her.

Ted shook his head, taking a seat on the old camping chair, "No, Dinah. It's me who was wrong. I've been out of the game for too long, there used to be a code that not even the bad guys violated. I have to put on a brave face for all the kids or lost people who come to my gym…. Please, let me clean and tend your wounds. I will help you when you need it. And will tailor my advice accordingly."

Laurel shook her head, "No, you were trying to help." She sighed, brushing her fingers through her hair, "God knows I need it." He then moved over to her, positioning her so he could clean the wounds, and he dabbed the wound with alcohol, forcing her wound to burn, "Ouch!"

"Quit being a baby!" He then looked at her, with a look that eerily reminded her of her Dad. "What if you take the time to heal and be with Connor? Let others fight Brick, Diggle for instance."

Laurel inhaled and exhaled audibly, "He and I are not seeing eye to eye in regards to Brickwell." He and Felicity being absent from providing assistance tonight showed her that. Maybe it was the smart thing to do. Completely break ties with her. It's safer that way. "Besides, this is my fight. Brick is my problem." He attacked her and put her family at risk. She added silently, as Ted began to suture her wound on her shoulder. "He's always ten steps ahead of me, Ted. To tell you the truth, that I couldn't even admit to Thea, or Roy I don't know if I can beat him, or even the assassin dressed up as me. But I have to try for Connie's sake. He deserves a safe future, even if I'm not there to see it." Whether that be death or life behind bars.

Ted nodded silently, "Admirable, and don't count yourself out just yet, the final bell hasn't rung yet. You should probably look into a gentleman that lives near the river. He had made one of my suits years ago, not as fancy as yours, but he's likely your best bet." Ted suggested as he began to suture her large gash on her upper arm, before working on her forehead. "Just be warned that while he is incredibly gifted with his hands, he is not all there, if you know what I mean."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Thea sat next to Iris in the conference room of the FBI, watching the recording of what the events that occurred when she, Iris, and Roy were interviewing Joe Chill, before the woman that has now dragged Laurel's legacy down the drain.

Thea watched the recording as the copy-cat canary dropped the disassembled pistol, and both women could see the blood that stained the walls of the room and pooled at Thea's and Black Canary's feet. It was at that moment, Thea shivered, as she heard the woman that framed Laurel. _"Hello, Thea, a pleasure to see you two again after my time away."_ The voice agitated her so much, why couldn't Laurel catch a break? Wasn't she entitled to grieve for her family, and all she had lost, to be with her son?

Instead, Laurel was god only knows where, bleeding, and likely without anyone to guide her, or look after her. She prayed that Ted would eventually find her, while she dealt with the FBI, and looked after Connor, with Roy.

Samanda Watson turned from the TV, that the recording was played from, looking between the journalist, and Thea, "Was there any other women in the room named Thea? Or perhaps even on the Verdant staff?"

Thea froze, keeping her mouth shut, she knew from Laurel how this game was played. She knew what a fishing expedition was. If only Iris could do the same, "Can you word that question without it making her seem guilty? Or at least not responsible?"

Agent Watson sighed, "There's no other Theas. The Black Canary was speaking directly to you." Upon noticing that Thea was tapping the table, she turned towards the TV, with a remote in hand, "Why don't we re-watch the footage, perhaps something may spark a memory?"

Thea glared at the agent, she didn't need to watch it again, she knew it wasn't Laurel, and yet had no way to prove it. "No!" She said emphatically. "She was speaking to me." She hated how her words tasted on her tongue. She prayed that Laurel would forgive her.

Agent Watson smiled, "Good..."

Thea looked at the FBI agent, and felt Iris' hand squeeze her's gently, "She was speaking to me, I won't deny that. What I will though, is ever meeting this person before."

Samanda Watson flicked through several pages, "According to these, Black Canary has been involved in your work with CNRI, and has been in contact with members of your family, including your mother." She then looked up, "I got a look at her, she certainly looked like the Black Canary from the news."

Iris snorted, "So because you saw someone dressed up as Black Canary, it must be her? Do you think every fat guy dressed in red with a beard, is Santa Claus? Or anyone that dresses in a giant bunny suit is the Easter Bunny? "

Watson stared at her without blinking, "I would if Father Christmas climbed down my chimney and delivered presents."

"Right, Agent. _If_ he acted like Santa. This woman doesn't act anything like Black Canary."

"Based on the few times you saw her?"

"No!" Thea said. "No, based on her M.O. The Black Canary never killed anyone when she first came to our city, and she stopped The Gang Wars. She didn't even kill when the Hood was dropping bodies. It would have been so easy for her to kill Robin Hood, but she didn't."

"No, but she didn't stop The Green Arrow from murdering Malcolm Merlyn."

"It wasn't her," Thea said, trying to justify what happened that night.

"So, you keep saying, Miss Queen."

Thea rested her hands on the table, her eyes not leaving the Agent's. "Did you ever check up on Josiah Becket? Red Lion National Bank? Or Samcorp?" Upon no answer, Thea snarled, "No, because you are too busy trying to crucify the first person that gave a damn about Starling and The Glades." Thea then turned to Iris, "How does Central City treat The Flash?"

Iris blinked, "Uh… They treat him as he should be, a hero."

"I have a rather long list of duties, Miss Queen. We aren't talking about Central City or The Streak. We are speaking about Starling, and how your so-called heroes are glorified criminals, who think they can kill whoever they like."

Thea let out a shuddering breath, "That's bullshit."

"The Black Canary dropped your name; she used your own gun to murder someone. And somehow, you are the only person that she didn't lay a finger against. You may think this shit show is a wild goose hunt, but something doesn't add up, and we will keep doing this until it does."

Iris glared at the agent, remembering what her dad has said about asking the right questions in an investigation, "How about you ask the proper questions instead of asking the wrong ones that lead you to run in circles?"

"Fine. Where is Laurel Lance? Is that a proper question, Miss West, Miss Queen?"

"How is _that _a better question?"

"You were meant to bring her in, Miss Queen. And there are exactly zero Laurel Lances in my custody, last I checked."

"How many Joe Chill's do you have?" Thea asked, raising her voice over the agent, "You think that it is a coincidence that this chick kills the one guy that could lead to Brick going back to where he belongs? Huh?"

Iris gently tapped Thea on the shoulder, "Thea..." It was evident to Thea that Iris was becoming uncomfortable with dealing with the FBI.

"No!" she said, shirking off Iris's hand. "The evil Black Canary did Agent Watson a favor, and now there is no one alive to show the world how much the damn FBI had screwed up in allowing Brick to make a mockery of them.'

Watson flicked her pen back and forth, "Did you know that Black Canary was going to attack Verdant last night? Is that why you bought a firearm?"

Iris stood up, "Unless you plan to charge us, we are leaving."

As they walked out, they saw Joe West holding Connor, the detective handing over Thea's nephew to her, and embraced his daughter, pulling back to look at the two young women, who were roughly the same age, "Are you two alright, I came over here in a _Flash_ as soon as I heard?"

"Define alright?" Thea asked as she felt Connor nuzzle into her neck.

Joe watched the girls, then heard the phones on the table ring, and he gently prodded the two to keep walking, not allowing them to dwell on who had died during the attack on Verdant. "I would offer you and your nephew to come to Central City, but we have our own problems there. If you want, though, my door is always open."

"Thank you, but my family needs me here."

"Seeing what happened here... It reminds me of when we had issues with organized crime and some other stuff that was largely kept out of the public eye. For a while, parts of Central City weren't always the nicest place as it is now." Wildcat and later Black Canary helped clean up the city, along with the police force and better leadership in the city. "Maybe I can convince…" His voice then lowered. "The Flash, considering that the rest of your team seems to be letting Laurel hang out to dry."

"If it gets too bad we will call in the cavalry. Central needs her guardian angel, and we don't know how long this could go on for."

"Regardless, you need help, call me and I will arrange something, even if it is just to talk." The detective then squared his eyes on Thea and her nephew once more. "Where is your team?"

"Busy, on the other side of town," Thea said with irritation. " Dealing with the League of Assassins, they heard whispers of men and women dressed in black being spotted as far away as Penny Town. They think that the League is scouting the city and its suburbs."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel, dressed in her black attire, watched as the man who had made Ted's outfit was telling a police officer that he had made her a sandwich for lunch. Something that she would never be able to do, make Oliver a meal, hell, in all likelihood, she was never even going to be able to make her baby any meals. Even if they were terrible.

She hated that she couldn't be with him, and she also hated that she had dropped her son into Thea's lap. She had so much to live for, instead of being a mom to her nephew. She could practically hear her father, Oliver, and Moira giving her a dressing down for abandoning her son. Moira, for all her faults, never left her children even when things got too tight. It was another bitter reminder of how much of a failure she is as a mother.

Once the cop drove off, Laurel walked out into the open, relishing the warmth of the sun. "Fraternization with a parole officer?" She asked.

The man turned around, looking ready to charge at her, as if he were a bull, and she was a matador. "Who are you?"

"You, Arnold Wesker? She asked, before adding, "Wildcat sent me."

The man relaxed. "Wildcat has been gone for a long time." He then looked back to where the police cruiser disappeared down the road. "Please don't tell anyone, it's against the rules."

Laurel walked towards him, "I don't care about your…friend. You used to make suits for my mentor, and now you are making them for someone else."

"Brickwell made me do it." He said regretfully, "Did that lady hurt you? I'm so sorry, Wildcat would be mad."

Laurel exhaled, feeling the irritation of the stitches that rubbed against her leather jacket. "Who was she?"

"She never said her name… If you want, I can make you a new suit?"

"I already have a tailor." She said, thinking about Cisco, but he was too busy looking after Central City with Barry and Caitlin. They had their own issues at home. "How did you make the suit?"

"The dimensions were taken from pictures and videos. It's hard to know the fabrics, so I lined it with Kevlar."

"Wildcat would be very cross that you helped Brick." She admonished the man. " I think that you should take me to your workshop, and maybe I won't tell him."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Ra's walked with Al Sah-Him across the salted earth that was once his home, he looked around the ruins remembering the life that he had once lived, "It has been an age or two since I have returned to this place. Not since I pledged myself to The League."

Al Sah-Him, looked around, "What happened, My Liege?"

Ra's described how he had been recruited with another, and that the two of them had risen through the ranks of the League, and became the previous Ra's' horsemen. "My predecessor trained me to be one of the most formidable men the world has ever seen. I have made many mistakes, and the biggest was allowing small mercies, to cloud my judgement. A mistake that you shall not follow, my heir." Ra's kept walking and came to a halt. "Who were those closest to Oliver Queen when he was alive?"

"Dinah Laurel Lance, was his wife, Connor, his son and only child, his sister Thea." Al Sah-Him looked around the sandy land, "Roy Harper, John Diggle and Felicity Smoak, were his close friends." He answered, honestly, "They mean nothing to Al Sah-Him, what do you wish of me?"

Ra's tsked, "Another has a claim to the title of Heir of The Demon. And you shall bring her here. Show no quarter to those that once were close to the man that inhabited this body before you. And you shall head to Starling City soon."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Samanda handed a photograph of Joe Chill to the warden of Iron Heights, "This man killed a billionaire, and his wife in front of their little boy. Thomas, Martha and Bruce Wayne. Chill was then moved away from Gotham in favour of Iron Heights to keep him safe. How does a lifer get out of jail?"

The warden shrugged. "A clerical mistake?

"A clerical mistake?" Watson asked with irritation, "How does someone go from shaking Brickwell to walking out into society? "

The man shrugged, avoiding eye contact with Agent Watson, "I think I would like to speak to my lawyer now, Agent."

Samanda nodded, as she left the room, and walked into her boss' office, closing the door behind her, "I got off the horn with Iris West, she was a little more forthcoming without Miss Queen. She said that Chill was gonna tell the camera that the shanking of Brickwell was staged."

"_Damn_."

"Yeah, apparently him being released was allegedly Brickwell's way of paying off his debt."

"Tell me the warden disputes that?" Talos asked, sitting in his chair.

"No, he's protecting his own hide. I think he's realized what kind of mistake he made, if it's true. The Warden has lawyered up…maybe Chill was lying?" She asked knowing that it wasn't true. It was almost certain in her mind that Brick had been pulling their strings this entire time.

"I have to take this up with the big boys, Sam. ADIC. Daniel Brickwell likely has been manipulating us from the beginning."

Samanda screwed her face up. "If Daniel Brickwell has been playing us, The Irish…all the bastards we put away will be released. All those agents ... All for nothing. Let me at least verify these allegations before we bring all this work crumbling down on top of us?" There had to be another answer, a way to keep the world safe from both Brickwell and those that they had put away due to Brickwell.

"What's your plan?"

Watson flexed her hand, hoping she wasn't doing something monumentally stupid. "I need two days. If Brick has been playing us, we will bring down the entire weight of The Bureau down upon him."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel followed Ted's former associate, Arnold Wesker, into his workshop, seeing a large arrow of ventriloquist dummies, model ships, and tools around his workplace. Laurel followed, until she saw her suit, coattails and all, on a mannequin.

She turned to look at the older man, "When did you leave Central City?"

"Not long before he took on an apprentice, I suppose that was you, dear."

Laurel nodded, walking past the steel gates, and walking towards her replica suit. She felt the fabric, it wasn't as soft as the one that Cisco had made her, when he replaced the one that Ollie had damaged. "Why is the suit here, Arnold?"

Laurel felt uneasy as she looked around the man's workshop. Something wasn't right, and yet right now Wesker was her only lead to get to Brickwell and keep Connor safe, now that Joe Chill was killed off to keep him quiet.

"It's a spare, Brick wanted a second one."

"Why?" Laurel asked, as she turned as she heard the steel gate shut and locked.

"You can ask him, yourself." Wesker answered, stepping away slowly from the steel gate.

Laurel shook her head, "What are you doing, Arnold? Think about Wildcat?" She said, as she discreetly pulled out an extendable baton from the suit's holster.

"I need to leave now. He said..."

Laurel could feel her chest thump in her chest. "No. No, don't do this."

The man gave her an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, I have no choice. He'll come for her, my Darla."

Laurel slammed the heel of her hand against the gate, "Why'd he ask you to trap me? Tell me where he is, and who wore the suit!" She then took a step back. "I will end this, you have my word."

"No, Brickwell will know, he always knows."

Truer words have never been spoken. He seemed to know how she would move around, and what her plans would be. Just like now. Just like in the prison and at Verdant. God, she just wanted Ollie with her right now. He would know what to do. It felt like every decision she made was the wrong one.

"If you loved her, Arnold. You would let her loose. The life that you and I live, doesn't work with Darla's, siblings or children. We hurt them through our actions, others hurt them to get to us." Everything that happened in the past year was proof of that. And that is why when she got her hands around Brick's neck, she would ring it until he stopped breathing.

When Arnold didn't move to open the gate, Laurel used her cry, sending the gates flying, narrowly avoiding Arnold, who charged at her, swept her off of her feet, and sent her flying over his workstation, and onto the ground. Laurel groaned and coughed, managing to make her way back to her feet, only for Arnold to grab her by the collar of her jacket, and slamming her hard into the desk.

He then picked up a buzz saw blade and a heavy wrench. Laurel, whilst still on her back, grabbed both of Wesker's wrists and wrapped one of her legs around his arm, and knocked away the buzz saw blade, before kicking her attacker in the face with the sole of her boot.

Arnold shook off his daze, his nose bloodied and lopsided. He then proceeded to drag her off of the workbench by her feet, Laurel groaned in pain as she hit the hard cement below her, she managed to dodge several swings of his wrench, before kicking his knee and rolling backwards, before she could get on her feet, and Wesker lifted her above his head and battering Laurel against the security doors.

Laurel fell to the ground, feeling her head throb. It was at this moment, she could hear multiple people entering the building, Laurel screamed, using her cry, and ran up to Wesker, pinning him against the wooden pallets. "Who's coming?"

"And I am not meant to be here, Lady." He said breaking free of Laurel's hold, he ducked, grabbing the saw blade, and swinging it, an inch from Laurel's throat. Laurel grabbed his arm, sending her knee to his wrist, the blade fell to the ground, and Laurel swept the blade out of reach, beneath the pallets.

She then restrained Wesker's arm behind him, kicked his knee out from beneath him, and leveraged the large man's weight with a choke hold. "Brickwell back-stabbed you, he doesn't care about _our_ _Darlas_." She said thinking about Connor, Oliver, Roy and Thea. "Why would he send the FBI…"

Arnold gasped, beneath the pressure to his throat, "The agents are meant to find you with the suit."

Laurel dropped Wesker to the floor, realizing just how far she had been trapped in the webs that Brick had weaved. "Oh god, he's framing me for being Black Canary…" She felt sick, she had no alibi for the other night, when her evil twin tried to kill Speedy, Roy and Iris.

The stone-cold bastard was always ten steps ahead of her. Even when she tried to do something smart, and try to flank him. Brick was always ready for her. This entire time he had been toying with her.

Laurel moved towards the prone man, who was still gasping for air, "Arnold, come on, Brick is tricking you, he only cares about himself." The next thing she knew was that Arnold Wesker had started to beg her to give herself up, that Daniel Brickwell would hurt his girlfriend. As much as she sympathized, she had her own family to worry about. "Once Brick has me…It— You will be a loose end, you and Darla both will be killed."

"What?" He asked, looking around.

Laurel panted, still recovering from her fight, "You have to help me, help me save your Darla, just tell me who you made the suit for?"

"I don't know…" He wept, "But I know that she is an FBI agent, he said they won't believe me if I tell them, and he would know if I did and he will kill Darla."

Laurel blinked, "How do you know that? How do you know the woman was in the FBI?"

"He was talking to the man that brought her to me." The man explained, wiping his eyes and face of tears and snot with his sleeve.

Laurel could hear the footsteps and whispers of people behind the door, she dived behind a pallet as an FBI agent threw a flash-bang. She always hated being on the receiving end of those things, she hated how her ears would ring, and the blinding white light would take forever to leave.

She watched as Arnold Wesker pulled out the saw blade that she had kicked, and threw it at the FBI Agents, he then proceeded to beat several of them, she threw a chair at one of the agents, and ran at another, sending a throat punch, and taking his assault rifle, and using it to beat several others with the butt of the gun.

She then ducked back behind the pallets in the shadows, and as more agents entered the building, she watched silently as all the laser dots were on Arnold's chest.

"On your knees." One commanded.

"Please…I need to save her!"

"Get on your knees, and remain calm, no sudden movements!" As the agents arrested Arnold Wesker, Laurel snuck out and into the corridor, and hurried off, never looking back. The man that had once helped Ted had made his choice, he allied with Brick, and now he had to reap what he had sown.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Later that night, Samanda Watson entered the surveillance room that watched Daniel Brickwell in his penthouse suite. She moved towards the agent watching the computer monitor, "He still asleep?" The man slept most of the last few days, he must be part sloth or something.

"Yeah." The agent sighed, "English has been sleeping all night."

"Good. I need to speak to him." She said emphatically. As she started to march back towards the door.

"You need company?" The agent looked restless, but she needed to know for herself, this was on her.

"No. I appreciate the offer, but I got this."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Brick sat in his little secret room as he listened to Josiah Beckett describe what had happened earlier in the day, because the trap hadn't managed to ensnare the bird. Dinah Laurel Lance had certainly evolved from the fool-hardy girl that he had first met over the two-way radio during The Turf Wars. He hadn't expected her to leave the half-witt to fend for himself against the FBI.

"Arnold Wesker is in custody, should we alter his situation, or perhaps that of his girlfriend?"

"That will not be necessary." He has removed another potential ally from The Canary's resources. The man before him had made protective suits for him, had made suits for a known mentor of Black Canary; Wildcat." The connection between the two men may cause his adversary to become paranoid and perceive everyone as her enemy.

He is also currently keeping tabs on Central City and their hero, after all if the rumors are true, he is an associate of Black Canary, or at least The Green Arrow. Though currently only two of the four associates of the Green Arrow have been aiding the Black Canary. "Where is Smythe?"

"She is laying low, as you commanded, though her mental instability is giving me pause." Beckett answered, looking slightly worried about what that would mean for their upcoming plans.

"Very true." Brickwell said, "I have demanded a lot from her. You shall keep an eye on her, but let her be." Brick looked around the room. Smythe was a tool, after she stopped being of use, and became a liability she would be taken care of. After all, she was expendable, but she didn't need to know that. "I should get back to my charade before Agent Watson catches on."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Samanda stepped into Brick's suite, and as she walked in, she looked at the luxurious and ostentatious paintings and décor. The man was supposed to be a prisoner, and was not living in the four seasons. How could she not see how Brick had manipulated her?

Her jaw tightened as she bolted up the stairs, skipping every second step, in haste to get to the second floor, and she opened Brickwell's door, to see that large man reading Dracula. "We need to talk."

Brick licked his finger, and turned to the next page, "You're working rather late." He said, as he pulled his reading glasses off, and looking at her, "Shouldn't you be with George?"

Watson turned on her heel, her hand palming her side arm, "Say his name again!"

Brickwell looked at her in confusion, before his face became neutral. "How can I assist you, Agent Watson?"

Samanda scoffed as she wiped her face, "Help me?" Was this man serious? "You remind me of a story, a man named Bobby has the best house in town, but was always willing to help his neighbourhood. The single mom needs her car repaired so she can take her children to and from school, Bobby's there. A family can't pay their rent? Good Ol' Bobby has it covered, no worries. Only here's the kicker, the cops never arrested him for large amounts of Slam. It was all the people that Bobby had helped."

Brickwell tutted. "She of little faith, Special Agent Watson. I am not this, Bobby." He then waved his arms around and patted the velvet bedding, "I made no such illusions that this was my price for my help. And you have paid the price."

Samanda blinked away the tears, he didn't deserve to see her break down. "I need to know, Brickwell, did you release Joe Chill from prison in lieu of monetary payment for shanking you?"

"I am disappointed in you, Special Agent. Your desperation has you pointing at shadows. Good night." He said, dismissing his handler. It was at that moment it really hit her, she wasn't the one with the power, she was only his pawn, that he was in charge. It was clear to her now. She was arrogent and stupid. Thea Queen was right all along. Brickwell was playing them.

She couldn't believe it. The bastard had played her like a fiddle, and now her whole world would be crumbling around her, George wouldn't be able to receive his treatments. She slowly walked out, feeling the walls encroaching towards her.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel washed her hands in the drab basin of the storage locker, she ignored the sting of the cool water rinsing out her battered and scraped hands. She cups her hands underneath the running water, and washed her face with the cool water, and let out a weary sigh.

Her tiny slither of peace was broken by his British accent, he was haunting her in her mind again. "The Heroine of Starling City feeds a simpleton to the Feds. Imagine the headlines."

She looked up at the grimy mirror, seeing the large man behind her, "Arnold Wesker made his decision. I can't force people to make the right decision."

"And yet…you did hesitate before you left. Why? Looking for some divine message to stop you? Waiting to hear the cries of; Your father, Sara or Oliver? And how low did you feel, Laurel, when no one tried to stop you?" He asked mockingly. "Or were you relieved that you didn't have to risk your life, and the reputation your son would have to endure if you saved a weak-minded criminal? All you had to do was turn yourself in. Is that not what a hero does? The right thing?" He scorned her as if she were a child.

Laurel turned away from the sink, only in her pants and a sports bra, her body showing off her various wounds, both old and new. She slowly made her way to the tattered mattress and slumped into it, only wincing as she landed.

And yet, Brick's voice continued to mock and taunt her, "You're not strong enough to beat the woman I sent for you. You're not smart enough to beat me. You couldn't do it alone, nor with your sister or your friends. Your father never knew when to lay down, and his heart gave out. Sara was too proud to give up her life with The League. And Oliver… He faced The Demon Head and lost. And like Ra's was for Oliver, I'm your end, Laurel. You will die the same way as your husband. Leaving your boy an orphan."

Laurel ignored the voice as she silently hobbled off of her bed and put on her blue tank top and leather jacket, she then reached out to grab her lower face mask, and lowered her hood over her head."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel entered an alley with her identity concealed, seeing Officer Darla shoving a criminal into the back of her car, she waited until the thug was in the back of the police sedan. "Darla?" The woman went for her gun, laurel raised her hands, showing that she had no intention of hurting her, "I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm here about Arnold Wesker."

"What about him?"

"He's been arrested. It wasn't about your relationship, though that is the least of your worries. Daniel Brickwell. He doesn't leave loose ends; you need to skip town."

"Shit!"

"You need to leave, or Brick will kill you." Laurel reiterated again before she started to hobble down the opposite end of the alley, and started to climb up a fire escape.

"What about Arnold? Is he okay?"

Laurel stopped on the grated platform, and looked down at the officer, "You can't help him. He is reaping what he sowed, he got into bed with Brickwell."

"You're a stone-cold bitch, aren't you!?" Darla called out towards Laurel, who resumed climbing. "Arnold told me how he admired Wildcat, and The Canary of Starling City. He thought that you were a hero like your mentor!" She yelled, "I told him that you are cut from the same piece of soiled cloth as Brickwell."

"I have warned you, Darla. The decision is yours, live or die, but it's not on my conscious." She said as she made her way up the building and disappeared into her night. What was in her hands, however, would be Thea, and Connor's blood if Brick got to them.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Samanda walked into her kitchen and turned on the kettle, only to be pinned to the fridge by The Black Canary. "I didn't come here to fight, Agent Watson."

Samanda attempted to escape The Canary's grasp only for Laurel to duck under a punch, and hold the agent's arm in a painful hold behind her back. "Who are you?" Samanda asked, attempting to glare at her captor from over her shoulder.

"I'm the Black Canary." Laurel whispered. "The real one."

Samanda panted, before slowly relaxing, Laurel, in turn loosened her grip, and took a step back from the agent. "You don't look like…"

"I'm not married to the suit." She said, keeping her voice low. "The woman who attacked Verdant brought the suit back."

"You may not be her, but you sure as hell match the FBI's description of a woman that has been roughing us up."

"Not my first choice, I don't react well when put in a corner. You people put me there." She growled as she poked a finger at Samanda's face. It was because of the incompetence of the FBI, the people her grandfather had served with distinction. They had opened Pandora's box upon her, they let Brick out. "You lot should wake the hell up, instead of playing to the tune that he sets he is manipulating you, and I think you have come to that realization."

Laurel exhaled, "Your men almost died trying to take my evil twin down. So, let me ask you this, Agent Watson, who do you think is the danger here, me or her?"

Agent Watson sized Black Canary up, with an irritated look, "Let's say that I believe the woman that broke into my house. Let's say that I give you the benefit of the doubt, what do you have for me?"

"The woman who attacked Verdant, dressed as Black Canary, she's one of yours. She's FBI."

Samanda Watson twisted her jaw, she hoped that she was trusting the right person. Brick had been playing her and the entire organization as fools. Perhaps the true Canary would set things back on track?

The Black Canary was her only hope, perhaps this woman would be able to give her a second chance to do the right thing. She felt so sick, and guilty for allowing Brick to so easily manipulate her.

"Keep talking."


	18. Revelations

Samanda Watson walked down the long hallway of the hotel, towards the surveillance room, every step she took, she could hear the low voice of The Canary of Starling City echo in the back of her mind, telling her to open her eyes, that Daniel Brickwell was the puppet master, and she and the Bureau were the puppets, having their strings pulled.

The vigilante's voice continued as she sat at her desk and started scouring the files that she had brought in dossiers on each and every agent that had anything to do with Daniel Brickwell.

_"The woman who attacked Verdant, dressed as the Black Canary, she's one of yours. She's FBI."_ The true Black Canary's statement echoed through her mind as she searched the files. Samanda went through several files, until she came to Siobhan Smythe, was she truly the agent that went rogue?

_"Hello, Thea, a pleasure to see you two again after my time away."_ It could have been Agent Smythe's voice, she thought, as she tried to remember the recording of Fake Canary attacking Verdant.

Agent Watson looked back up at her fellow agents who continued to work, and it only took one bad apple to ruin the bunch. If Brickwell had his claws on Agent Smythe, who else did he have under his thumb?

She turned to look up at the log sheet to see when Smythe was last on duty, before pulling up the security footage of the surveillance room, a feature only the lead agent would know about. She clicked open the date and watched as Smythe turned off the recordings in Brickwell's penthouse, before leaving for the room.

She raised her hand to her mouth, "My god..."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Diggle watched as Nyssa tickled both of Connor's feet, according to her, she had returned to Starling due to the fact that she had nowhere else to go, and that Laurel was the closest thing she had to family now that Sara was gone, and her father for all intents and purposes had disowned her, stating that she had heard whispers that he had chosen a new heir.

The former heir to the demon hadn't been able to locate Laurel, much to his chagrin, so she had opted to watch over her beloved's nephew and was his ever-present shadow in the past few weeks.

John had thought that the team had convinced Laurel that the right thing to do was come out from hiding, and resume her life. Apparently Brickwell had forced Laurel to think otherwise.

Connor couldn't continue living in limbo, with his father killed, and his mother being forced into a bad situation that there was no easy way to escape from. Thea and Roy, for the most part, looked after the child, occasionally he, Lyla, Nyssa, and Walter Steele would also take turns when necessary.

After Thea and Roy had returned to The Bunker, following the massacre at Verdant, Felicity had scoured many of the security cameras around the area to find where their friend had managed to. John suspected that Laurel knew many of the winding alleys, shortcuts, and the location of prohibition tunnels like the back of her hand, just as Oliver knew his way blindfolded through the rest of the city. The Glades, and even to a lesser extent the city was her domain, which made it difficult to find her unless she wanted to find her.

It didn't help either that Laurel had had counter-espionage training from Ted Grant, a man that had according to Thea abandoned Laurel, he could sympathize with her situation, feeling like everyone was against her, he just hoped that she would come to realize it wasn't true before she did something monumentally stupid.

A small part of him wondered if Ted was keeping Laurel's location a secret, his military background and his honor surely would prevent him from leaving someone behind, let alone someone he considered family to fend for herself?

All he knew for certain was that if Oliver had somehow made it out alive, or was watching them from the other side, he knew that the man that he once considered a brother would have a few choice words for him and Felicity.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel watched from the rooftop as she watched Agent Samanda Watson slink into the alleyway, looking like a fish out of water. Laurel moved around the rooftop looking for any plain-clothed agents, before making her way down the fire escape, landing behind her silently.

"Agent Watson." She said softly, watching the agent slowly turn to face her, her eyes trying to find out who she was behind her mask and hood.

"You're late," Watson said curtly, looking the vigilante in the eyes.

Laurel smirked under her mask that covered the lower part of her face, "Or, I was early and ensuring that you didn't do anything underhanded." She said, before squaring her shoulders, "What's her name?"

"You want to speak about trust? I want to know if I can trust you before I do anything." She kept browbeating the vigilante, she was going against everything she believed in, "You have a history of hurting people, including federal agents, why would I hand you one of our own?"

Laurel scoffed, "I haven't killed any of them, and if she's dirty you will want to be sure."

Watson gave the Canary of Starling City an unamused look and shook her head. "You assaulted agents the other day, men and women who were just doing their job. One of which is still in the hospital."

"And if you arrested me, there would be no one to take down Brick." And Connor would be left an would have to endure what Barry had to, only she wouldn't be innocent like Barry's dad.

"No. If you are right about Brickwell, he's our responsibility, not some deputized punk who runs around covering her face, nor her posse."

"Interesting." Laurel remarked sardonically, "And I suppose Brick is sleeping behind bars, and not given a five-star hotel to sleep in?" She then gave the agent a nod. "I understand, and that's where you and I can agree, Watson. It's the greater good. House incarceration in exchange for actionable intel. Sometimes you have to hurt a person to save another." She then looked straight into the agent's eyes, "What is her name?"

Watson broke the stare down and blinked as she looked up and down the alley, "I need your word that you won't touch her."

"And how much does an anonymous woman's word mean to you?"

"All the same." Agent Watson snipped through a tight jaw, "I need to hear you give me your word."

Laurel thought about it quickly, and as much as she wanted to say no, this was still her best chance of putting Brickwell back where he belonged. At the very least, he would be held without access to technology, people without being monitored heavily, if Waller doesn't take the man herself. "I need him to testify against Brick, so I need him alive as much as you do. So now you have it."

Agent Watson exhaled, and pocketed her hands into her jacket, "We will slip into her apartment. Look for evidence that ties her to the Verdant attack or Brickwell. If we do, we leave it be, we set the fire alarm on the way out."

Laurel bit her lip, it was a smart idea, "You can circumvent a warrant that way."

"If we don't find anything, she gets to go on living her life, with no repercussions."

"Don't beat around the bush, Agent." She said, talking over Federal Agent, "What is her name?"

She could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, she could relax, look after her baby, resume being a lawyer, and perhaps occasionally go out in the field with Speedy, to keep the city safe for her son to grow up in.

"Special Agent Siobhan Smythe."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Thea returned from her patrol, trying to ascertain who was the latest vigilante who was trying to protect her city. Diggle had tried to get a hold of Felicity but to no avail, she had only witnessed the man wearing some kind of robotic suit, and possessed the ability to fly, or hover using some kind of miniature jet-pack things. She opened the door to her apartment to see Roy looking absolutely tired, "You feeling alright?"

Roy nodded, as he wiped his face with his hand, "Sure. Connor has just got a sore throat that's bothering him, the doctor said that his throat was a little inflamed but nothing but a bit of popsicles, or chicken soup won't solve."

Thea hugged her boyfriend, before dropping her bag on the floor, and heading into see her nephew sleeping, she touched his forehead, just like she remembered her Mom doing when she was sick, but felt no fever. She leaned over, giving him a kiss, before leaving, hating that her nephew couldn't be with his parents, sleeping in their bed, between them.

It was one of the best medicines she knew of for little kids, sleeping in their parents' bed when they were sick. She still remembers when she came home from the hospital after having surgery on her broken arm as a little kid, she remembers sleeping between her Mom and Dad for the first few nights.

She returned to see Roy sitting down on the couch, and two cups of coffees sitting on the table. Thea sat on the couch, and brought her legs beneath her, "I was thinking while I was on patrol, Brick has been giving up criminals involved in corruption."

"Right." They already knew that.

"Well, what if his endgame is to step into the gap that they leave behind? He becomes the sole source of government protection, from all sorts of criminals in The Glades, if not the entirety of Starling City."

Roy sat up, alert. "So, what made you so excited?"

"I have a plan." She said proudly.

Roy didn't want to burst her bubble, but he felt that he had to warn her all the same, her brother and Laurel would do the same. "He's ten steps ahead of us, Babe. I'm surprised that Laurel has been able to evade his influence and the FBI."

"That's if he knew that I am on to him, he doesn't— couldn't know. I discovered this when I was being Overwatch, the other night when you were in my brother's new suit."

"Hey, I was trained by you, Laurel and Oliver. The city needs a Green Arrow, especially while its Canary is indisposed."

Thea scoffed playfully, "Fine, you can be the heir to the emerald hood. But the point is, I was bored while you and Diggle took out Murmur. I looked through so much information on some of the biggest law firms, and found a deposition of a corrupt official who was providing fraud and laundering services to the Irish."

She then pulled a piece of paper from her bag, "These are Brick's terms for his house arrest. If he violates even one of them, then we will find himself back in prison. Number three is what should catch your eye."

Roy smirked as he read the text Thea was pointing at it read; com_mitting or conspiring to commit a felony.'_ He looked back at Thea, who looked so proud that despite being side-lined by her sister, she had managed to help her regardless. That's the girl he fell in love with; smart, loyal, resourceful and exceptionally stubborn.

"So, the FBI sees that our English friend…"

"He's not my friend!" Thea corrected him almost immediately.

He bit his lip to resist chuckling, "Right." He agreed, "Once they find that he has violated the agreement they are forced to bring him back into prison?"

Thea beamed and patted her legs. "Yup, and we have Felicity sending it to every local media outlet, including Iris in Central City, to put it on the front pages, and no one can ignore it. Hell, after he is put behind bars, we could convince Lyla that he is just as much of a threat as that boomerang guy, or Slade Wilson. He will never see the light of day again"

**:-:-:-:-:**

Siobhan walked into the FBI offices that night, feeling every agent stop whatever they were doing and casting their judging eyes upon her, as if she were some sort of pariah, it was at this time that she finally had someone she could trust in her corner, Brickwell trusted her and that was enough.

She ignored all the eyes on her, as she found Agent Watson speaking to another agent, "Samanda?"

The woman turned around, and looked at Smythe seriously, "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"Your message made it quite clear that it was not an offer." She said, avoiding eye contact with her senior agent, "What's happening, boss?"

Agent Watson nodded, "I have someone here who would like to speak to you." She then gestured her head in the opposite direction, "Come."

Smythe hesitates, taking a final look around the office, and her fellow agents, agents who had turned their backs on her, and followed Watson through the bullpen, and into the frosted door of the conference room.

A man in his late twenties, in a fine suit, stood with a large portfolio and gave Siobhan a charming smile. He was certainly a pretty boy, she thought.

"Siobhan, this is an old friend of mine, Shane Jacobson." Siobhan, after a beat, shook the man's hand. "He's an attorney, if you are up for it, Shane, here is willing to go into bat on your behalf. To sue the Bureau for wrongful suspension."

Smythe shook her head in bewilderment. "He can do that?" She asked Watson.

The chuckle of Jacobson broke the silence, "I can, and will if that's what you want my friend. And considering that your colleagues have footed the bill to put my expensive ass on retainer, they must love you."

Siobhan looked at Agent Watson, visibly moved, "You had my back through all of this?" She watched as her fellow agent nodded, "I don't know how to thank you."

Samanda's eye twitched, "The girl that pulled us from the fire, and saved our lives doesn't need to thank us for anything, you're a hero."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel watched the night sky as she watched a light blue light darted around the city, and towards the power plant. She twisted her jaw as she wished she could be there fighting alongside her sister, Roy, and Digg, hearing Felicity try to make a name for the metahuman or criminal who had the technology to fly.

But she had to deal with Brick, it was personal, her baby was in danger, and so was every person who crossed him. Laurel buried her longing down inside of herself, reminding herself they didn't believe that Brick was a threat.

"I have been looking for you, my friend." A familiar voice said, coming from behind her. "Are you alright?"

Laurel turned slightly to see Nyssa standing beside her. It was unsurprising that Nyssa was able to track her down. "How are you?"

"I shall endure, as I always have. And you? I see we have opted out of the protective suit, not the smartest decision you have ever made."

Laurel nudged her friend, only to feel Nyssa embrace her with a warm smile on her face, making Laurel feel homesick once again, "I assure you, your little one is strong just like his parents, he is well. For the past week or so, I have kept an eye on him. I will continue to do so while I'm able to do so. I shall protect him as if he were my own kin. I already consider him to be such."

Laurel pulled back, wiping a rogue tear from her eye. As far as she was concerned, Nyssa was one of Connor's honorary aunts. It was always interesting watching how gentle the assassin was with Connor, it was a stark contrast to how she usually acts around other people.

"That's good." She whispered, more to herself than to Nyssa. "I'll be fine once this is over."

"I am a marked woman, Laurel. And yet, I will kill Daniel Brickwell and his ilk, if that is what you desire?" It was what Nyssa didn't say that gave Laurel a warm feeling. Nyssa was ready to kill for the only two people that she saw as her true family. Her and Connor. Even if it meant her own death. " You only need to say the word, and he will choke on his own blood."

Laurel hesitated for a few seconds. "No," Laurel answered. She finally had the upper hand on him again, she was working the lead with Agent Watson. "I can handle it, no need to put yourself in harm's way. I hope that this meeting can stay between you and me?"

"Of course."

" Take care of yourself, Nyssa. "

Laurel gave her friend a final smile, before she turned, covering her face with the lower face mask, and climbed down the fire escape, silently taking measured steps to avoid making a sound, she walked down two stories, before stopping at a window, she crouched and pried the window open, shoulders first, she swung herself into Agent Smythe's apartment, and taking careful vigilant steps she looked around the dark room, before slowly moving towards the front door, to grant Agent Watson entry.

Samanda walks in with a torch, the light illuminating the room, "Find anything?"

"Besides the fact that I would say that your fellow agent has OCD?" Everything in the apartment was ordered and cleaned. The apartment didn't look lived in, no magazines, books lying around, nor dirty dishes in the sink.

"So did my ex, but she wouldn't fit in your suit." She said, as she looked around, noticing Black Canary opening the refrigerator. "Everything I have on Smythe is circumstantial at best." She said, as she looked at the large bookcase with everything sorted according to the genre, then in alphabetical order. "I suppose we can take solace that she is busy, I made sure of that."

Watson could only just make out The Canary's light footsteps as she moved around the room. "I just can't see a decorated agent falling for whatever sweet words Brickwell is whispering to her."

Laurel looked over her shoulder, "That's how he works. He finds your Achilles' heel and hits it hard and fast without mercy. And when you are on your knees, you have no choice but to buy into his bullshit."

It's part of the reason why she had abandoned her son. To keep him safe, isn't it? As long as it looked like she didn't care about her baby, Brick wouldn't press the issue. It wasn't a safe bet, but so far it was working.

"I would bet that you guys are shouting his room service?" Laurel continued with a sardonic tone, lacing her voice. She gave a hidden smile to the agent, who gave her a dirty look, Laurel opened the closet, to find a safe, and put her ear to the cold steel, and started twisting the dial. Grateful that she had developed a stronger sense of hearing.

"How can you do that?" Watson asked with bewilderment, she knew that there were people with powers, but usually, they were overt, super-speed, a sonic scream, super strength, or controlling the weather, not enhanced sense of hearing.

"I can't, not if you keep talking." Laurel whispered, as continued to crack the lock, Ollie would have used a trick arrow or attempted to brute force it. She hoped wherever he was, he would forgive her for abandoning their son, and perhaps, if she was lucky her husband looked at her proudly for cracking the safe with her new powers.

Once the door opened, both women looked inside to see a few assault rifles, knives and some money, along with some other valuables, and knickknacks. "If the suit was here, she hid it somewhere else." Laurel thought out loud.

"I don't think that your uncorroborated testimony will sway a judge."

Laurel stepped back, staring at the agent, "She's my copy-cat."

"So, you say," Samanda sighed, "We have nothing here that ties Smythe to Brickwell or Verdant. Nor does Shivvy have any documented powers." The agent stopped, and looked at the vigilante, "How did you end up at the nightclub?"

"Does it matter?" Laurel deflected, "Just gotta keep one foot in front of the other, and don't look back." She then looked back in the safe, to see a tape recorder, and she pressed play on it.

_"When the __neighbor's__ cat jumped into our yard," _The voice of a younger Siobhan said, _"I screamed at it, at the cat, the sound from my mouth killed it."_ To Laurel's ears, the voice didn't sound remorseful.

_"How did it feel to watch the cat die, Shivvy?"_ Asked for another voice, likely a psychologist.

_"I tried not to, Doctor Thompkins, I did. But I liked it."_

"Holy shit!" Watson said upon hearing the recording.

Laurel wondered how Agent Smythe had developed her cry as a child, she had only woken up her powers when she was almost killed by Malcolm, and her enhanced hearing had only just emerged this year. There was so much that they didn't know about how enhanced people came to be, even before the particle accelerator. Maybe they never would know.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Ra's walked towards one of the priestesses, as he did, she spoke to him. "You are troubled. You are troubled because you worry about Al Sahim's loyalties."

Ra's sighed, as he sat down, as he did, he truly felt his age. "That is one of the many things I fret about." He wasn't long for the world. His eldest daughter left. Years later, her younger sister followed after being led away by Sara Lance's influence.

Nyssa was going to be his heir until he met Oliver Queen. The man possessed remarkable skill and discipline that And despite Nyssa no longer being an heir, that so few truly possess. No Nyssa would still serve a purpose.

All of the future plans that had to be rushed due to his failing body, now the pits have stopped working beyond giving him a slight energy boost. Malcolm Merlyn under _interrogation_ had informed him of what has been happening, how he had seen a glimpse of the real Oliver reemerging. Merlyn was very cooperative, once he lost several toes, a few teeth, and an eye.

"Ensure that Al Sahim's loyalty is to you and you alone. Speak to him often, be his confidant. Lead him away from his temptations, until he has slain them." The seer told him. "He is to play a vital role in the future of the League." He knew her to be correct. No other Oracle has rivaled Nanda Parbat's since the Roman emperor Theodosius silenced the oracle at Delphi. As such, no Ra's had ever questioned the wisdom of their oracles.


	19. Heated Discussions

Speedy and Arsenal jumped off their bikes at the entrance of the power plant to see no emergency. It looked as if everyone had headed home for the night. It wasn't a surprise, after everything that had happened over the last few months or years, that no night security was present.

After searching the area, "There's no one here," Roy said, looking at her.

Before Thea could respond, a man dressed in some sort of exoskeleton suit, with small blue jets, keeping him in the air, appeared out of nowhere, and spoke to them, "That must be disappointing." He said sarcastically, "I'm sorry that there is no one that you can kill, or let your black-clad friend beat up good people, like federal agents to an inch of their lives. I, uh, kind of faked the 911 call."

"What do you want?" Speedy growled.

"I'd say that you have the right to remain silent…but I'm not a cop unless it works for a civilian's arrest?" He said before he released a blue-white pulse at them, both archers ducked, with Arsenal shooting an arrow that bounced off of his exo-suit.

The robot-man landed on the ground in front of them, Roy dodged the electric pulse, by ducking beneath the pile of cinder blocks, and fired a trick arrow with a net that emerged, only for their adversary to blast it away.

Speedy shot an explosive arrow that forced the man into the air, before he charged towards her, knocking her to the wet ground. Speedy groaned, as the other red-archer helped her to her feet, as they managed to get to their feet, the robot-man had his arm-laser aimed at them, "It's over, that's it slowly, nice and easy."

At the same time, Roy and Thea threw a flechette each simultaneously, disabling the man to control his suit, by cutting an exposed wire on either side of his waist.

Roy watched in amusement as his girlfriend ran at the man and sent a drop-kick at the man, sending him to the ground. Their adversary had made the wrong speech in slandering Laurel's name. He knew as far as Thea was concerned, an attack on Laurel's name was an attack on her.

Roy walked over as Speedy bounced to her feet and pulled up the man's visor to see Raymond Palmer. He then turned to his partner to see her ruby bow knocked and drawn.

"You think we are the bad guys? The woman that you think I am, that my sister is… We would either beat you until you had to be sent to ICU. You need to back off, and let us handle it."

Ray looked at the Ruby Archers, "Kill me then, show your teammate, Felicity, what kind people you are. That you are just like your predecessors and all the other criminals"

"I don't have anything to prove to her," Roy said, as far as he and Thea were concerned, they were doing their part to keep the city safe, and keeping Laurel's seat warm until she came back into the fold. "We are keeping the city safe, and there is more to what is happening to the Black Canary than meets the eye." He then helped Ray up, "This life isn't easy, and you should think about if it's the life you want. If it is, we can work together to keep the city safe."

"For future reference, Black Canary and the Green Arrow are not the bad guys, and I never want to hear it again," Thea growled as she headed back to her motorcycle.

The ATOM looked surprised at Arsenal. "Is she always this scary?"

"Only when you insult or attack her family. They are always her priority." Not unlike her brother, nor her sister-in-law.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Samanda put the box of recordings back into the safe. Laurel, however, was distracted she cocked her head, she could just make out someone heading in their direction.

Watson looked over at Black Canary, trying to find some way to defend her partner and friend, even if she knew in her heart that Siobahn was the psychopath that framed Black Canary, and killed people in Verdant. "Just because Smythe has serious issues, doesn't necessarily mean…"

Laurel raised her hand to shush her situational-ally and attempted to focus on hearing the impending steps of whoever was headed in this direction. Laurel turned on her heel, looking at the FBI agent, "She's here. You should leave now."

Samanda disagreed, and squared her shoulders. "No! We had a deal. No evidence and you agreed to spare her."

"I found enough." The vigilante said dismissively.

"Not the kind that would hold weight in a court of law!" Watson hissed.

"She will use the suit again; I have a leg up on her." She now had blackmail. Evidence. "I can get my evil-twin to tell me where the suit is."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Outside the apartment, Siobhan heard footsteps and voices in her apartment, she pressed her ear against the door, hearing a couple of voices, none of which she could name.

_ "You gave me your word."_ The first voice said with clear irritation.

_"And I reneged on it. One of the shortcomings of an oral agreement."_ Then came the second voice that she was not familiar with.

Smythe waited a few seconds before opening the door, slowly walked in and cautiously looked around her apartment for the intruders; instead, she spotted the headphones that were usually locked away in her safe.

Smythe turned around towards the safe to see it was slightly ajar, she looked to see if anything was disturbed, before pulling out a pistol. Smythe ran towards the open window where she spotted two figures entering a different apartment across the alley, and sent two shots towards them, only to see the black figure tackle their partner to escape the bullets.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel kept her form low."The shot came from across the alley," she said, looking towards the window, and out of the corner of her eye, seeing Agent Watson clutching her side.

Laurel for a moment, ignored the agent's panting and winces. She tried to peek out from the sofa, roll backwards, narrowly avoiding a gunshot to her chest. "When I say so, run to the door and don't look back."

Laurel crawled on her belly towards the closet door, with a full-body mirror on it, and angled it, before returning. "I know the kind of gun she's using." It was the same kind of pistol her father always had as a spare, judging by the sound. Laurel knew the clip size. It was the kind of gun she and Sara had first learned to shoot with. "She only has three more bullets left."

"Now!" She said as she stood up, only for the several bullets to be shot in her direction, and hit the mirror, shattering it. Laurel watched as Samanda managed to run out of the apartment and down the hall to safety.

Black Canary swiftly climbed out of the window, dropping a ceramic pot on top of Smythe, who had made it towards Laurel from her apartment. Black Canary bolted up the steel steps of the fire escape, not looking down, as she heard her adversary fall down several rungs.

She narrowly dodged several bullets, making her way with great haste up to the rooftop, and away from her pursuer. In the background, Black Canary could hear a beat cop commanding Smythe to freeze, Laurel rushed across the rooftop, resting behind a water tank. upon straining her ears to make out what was occurring with Smythe and hearing no altercations, Smythe explained that she was defending her home from would-be thieves.

Laurel smiled proudly as she pulled out the recorder that had Smythe admitting to having enjoyed killing her neighbor's cats. She finally had another lead. But at what cost? She left Smythe alive, how many more will she kill while she still breathes? Laurel pulled herself up and staggered away into the darkness.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Thea watched and walked into the Hochman Hotel, as she ignored Roy's texts about going on patrol tonight, she had to protect her family, and she would do it by looking the devil in the eyes, she was Moira Queen's daughter, perhaps she could get Brickwell to slip up?

She reminded herself why she was doing this, to protect her family, to save Laurel, and look after Connor. And while Roy may sympathize with her, he would tell her it was a bad plan. But she had to try. She owed Oliver, Laurel, and Connor to try.

She walked up to the top floor, to be stopped by two FBI agents, "How did you get in here?"

Thea gave them a congenial smile, "I walked through the doors, and bought myself a nice room. I'm Thea Queen."

"We know who you are." One of the FBI agents replied snidely.

"As a co-owner of this establishment, I have the right to speak to any and all occupants." She said confidently, even if she didn't know if that was true. "Queen Industries now owns a share of this establishment, and I may feel that it would be in my company's best interest not to be affiliated with any known criminals if I don't speak to him."

"No, you can't do that." Growled one of the agents.

Thea smiled as she pulled out her phone and dialed Oliver's number, knowing that his phone was locked away in a safe, along with Laurel's. She looked back at them, "What are your names, gents so I tell my attorney that you are preventing me from conducting my business?"

The two agents shrugged at each other, before telling them to follow them into the penthouse. Thea walked into the apartment to see the room's decorations, looking more ostentatious and fancier than her parents ever had in the mansion.

Between being close to Laurel and her dad, along with losing Queen Consolidated, Thea no longer felt at ease looking at the display of wealth.

"We will be watching." The agent said, pointing at the cameras as he closed the door behind her, leaving her alone in the penthouse with the wild animal.

"Ms. Queen." Brickwell said as he stood above her, on the second floor, "I must admit, I am surprised that you showed your face here." He said as he slowly walked down the stairs in his three-piece suit, with a white collared shirt.

"It must be hard roughing it," she said dryly, looking around the luxury suite, "Doing hard time in the slammer, huh?"

How was it fair that Laurel was potentially living on the streets, despite being a hero, while Brick was allowed to live in the lap of luxury whilst being a criminal?

Brick gave an amused snort, "No doubt, this offends you. After all, your mother had to endure what was said ?" Rhetorically, "Hard time in the slammer? So did Detective Lance before he regrettably passed away." He then looked at her, "Or is it, your personal history?" He then moved past her, "If it is that latter, Darlin', I'm paying off that debt." He said gesturing to his ankle monitor. "I'm a prisoner trapped behind the veneer of luxury.

"Your right." Thea agreed that it was this asshole's fault that Laurel was on the run, and had to try to take him down like a guerrilla, leaving her only child behind. How did he get to live in this palace after all he did, when his own mother who had been remorseful had to fight tooth and nail to get released? "It is offensive."

Brick stopped sauntering, and turned to face her with a small smirk, "Tea, coffee, water, juice?"

Thea shook her head, "I'm good."

Thea and Brick studied each other, for a few minutes, before Brick walked around the table, and gestured for her to take a seat, "Please, take a seat."

Good. Thea thought. She was finally getting somewhere, "Yeah." She mumbled and took a seat next to him as he took the head of the table. Some sort of male chauvinistic powerplay, most likely. "Let's have a nice talk." She said confidently, her hands relaxed on her thighs, her eyes never leaving his.

"You are not going to kick me out of this hotel as if I am some sort of pariah?"

"Aren't I?" She cocked her head and quirked her brow. "I could unless you know who owns part of the hotel? Why else would you invite me here?" Only the other owner could veto her request to kick out a customer. He was sitting across the table from her.

Brick's jaw tightened, "To achieve what? My distress?"

Thea's placed her hand beneath her chin with a small smile tugging at her lips, "That sounds like it could be fun."

"I don't enjoy being poked and prodded Ms. Queen, as if I am cattle or some other variety of livestock." He then looked away briefly, before looking back at her, "You worked for Joanna de la Vega, correct?"

"Yes." She answered curtly, "Before she was murdered."

"And yet, neither you nor her partner understood the parable of Miss de la Vega's story."

Thea eyed the security camera, "That a threat?" She asked, feeling cold, perhaps she made an error of judgment coming here in her zeal to protect Laurel. She always gave Laurel a hard time when it came to her being impulsive, but it seemed that she wasn't that different.

"Merely, a friendly observation, don't be so paranoid." He answered dismissively, but his eyes told the opposite. It was a far cry from a friendly observation.

"Fair enough." She played along and attempted to throw a curveball at Brick, even though it was a bluff. "What about what my mother told me about The Undertaking? And who had ties to Tempest? Not the kind of stuff a respected man like yourself would be onboard with, huh, _Danny-Boy_" She sang his nickname like the song.

Brick raised an eyebrow at her, it was enough of a reaction to knowing that he was getting under his skin. "I'm sure that Queen Industries will have a field day showing it to the public."

"Why? When we can tell everyone who works for my new company and share a few laughs."

"Even at Verdant?" He said raising his brow at her, "I heard about your misfortune, I hope that Miss West was not too shaken up?"

Without missing a beat, she fired back, "And I'm positive that you never had anything to do with it." She replied cynically, ignoring the rising tensions in the room.

Brick's face tightened, he looked at her with an irritated glance before looking up at the camera, and back at her, before exhaling deeply, looking off into the distance in front of him. "You asked me why I let you in. The reason is, Ms. Queen, I have a few niggling questions of my own, to sate my own curiosity."Thea raised her brow, as he continued, "You may be a respected owner of an up and coming company, raising your family reputation like a phoenix from the ashes, but not so long ago, you were merely a secretary at a law firm. To Dinah Laurel Lance, correct?"

"Office manager, and business partner." She corrected him.

"And you were hired due to your family's wealth, or was it nepotism?"

"Neither, I earned my stripes."

"Of course." Brick said condescendingly, before he lowered his voice, "Tell me. When was it that you finally learned about Laurel's double life?" Thea froze, her eyes flashed towards the large man opposite to her, Thea's brain refused to work. Her mind then flashed to see Laurel lying in her apartment half dead. She imagined seeing Connor and Laurel both dead. Brickwell's mouth parted in a toothy sneer, "Yes." He sneered in victory. "Thank you, Miss Queen."

Thea had just given him irrefutable proof that Laurel was the Black Canary. She sold out her sister! And painted a target on Connor's small innocent head.

Thea looked everywhere but Brick, as she tried to reorganize her thoughts, she couldn't let the bastard get the best of her. SHe had to salvage this somehow. "Want to know a secret, _Danny-Boy_?" Without waiting for him to respond, she continued, "Samuel Brickwell. A sweet boy, nothing like his father. Laurel wasn't the one to send the boy away."

Brick's sneer evaporated, and Thea felt a sense of pride, "What was it like for you when he was taken away by protective services and disappeared without a trace? Not knowing if sweet Sam is with people who would look after him or not?"

She knew the answer because she had watched and listened as Laurel and her brother had begged her and Roy to be Connor's guardian if something happened to them. To ensure that their son was safe and knew they loved his family.

Brick's face twisted and contorted into a frown as if he was trying in vain not to explode in fury. "You worry, and feel sick in the pit of your stomach." Good, he understands how Laurel feels right now. Thea then smirked, "Laurel was not the brains of the operation. _I_ was the one that gave her the idea before _I_ sent an anonymous phone call into child protection services. _I_ am the daughter Moira Queen and Malcolm Merlyn after all. That kind of thing runs deep in my blood."

Brick stood above her, his hulking frame created a shadow over her, and let out a guttural yell. "Arghh!"

She heard people yelling, before she was pinned to the table, and felt that she was being cuffed. "What?" She asked, as she was hauled to her feet, and watched as Brick was escorted away, as he walked past her, he then lowered his voice so only she could hear, "Send my _love _to sweet Connor."

Thea felt sick to her stomach. Connor in his very short life had managed to avoid being forced into their world. When she, her mom and Ollie were kidnapped leading her mother sacrificing herself for her family, Connor was with Quentin and Laurel. When Laurel was forcefully taken by Slade, the man had left Connor behind.

According to Ollie, it showed him that the man that trained him, a man of honor, was still inside him. That he could be redeemed. But Brickwell didn't have Slade's honor. He would kill her nephew in the blink of an eye without remorse.

He was then guided upstairs, revealing Diggle standing next to Lyla in the doorway, "Digg, Lyla?" She then looked back up to the stairs, to see Brick glaring at her with an angry snarl, as he was marched away from the living area.

She walked towards her friends, "What are you doing here?"

"Saving your ass," John said as he walked her out, with his wife at his side.

"And you had them believe that I would kill them?"

She then heard Lyla's soft voice, and felt a gentle movement on her back, "What Johnny means, is that we had to tell them something, and Waller was reluctant to interfere, she had her eyes set on something else." Waller had no reason to interfere, nothing to gain, Thea mentally added.

"I had to save you. Oliver would never forgive me if I let both his wife, and the remainder of his blood die."

He should have thought about that before he threw Laurel to the wolves. Thea shook her head, and spun on her heel, "No, you didn't. You ruined it. I had him by the short and curlies!"

They kept walking, as Diggle spoke, "Thea, this guy is three or four times your size, even Laurel almost died fighting him, hell she probably would have if she didn't have her—" He cleared his throat. "_Powers_"

"And they would have it all on video, Connor would be able to have his mom back, and Laurel would be free."

Diggle scoffed, "I thought Laurel was certifiable, you and she are two damn peas in a pod. Was that truly your plan? Starling City and Connor need you more than Laurel does, as much as I want her to be with her family, with us, she made her bed, don't follow her into hell, it's not what Oliver would want."

"Johnny, Thea." Lyla chided as they entered the elevator, "Deep breaths."

Thea exhaled, leaning against the side of the elevator, "I didn't want him to kill me, I'm not stupid. I wanted him to keep all his eyes and attention on me. Then Laurel catches him unawares. A bit of cloak and dagger. And I wouldn't have to risk such a gambit if all of the team were supporting Laurel. We need all hands on deck!"

Lyla turned from John, who looked annoyed, before looking at the young woman who had too unreasonably thrusted upon her, from an early age, A vigilante, a mother figure to her nephew, and now a CEO of a new company. According to Felicity, Thea had started accumulating in the last few months silently, including poaching some remnants of Merlyn Global, and other companies that were dying.

"Oh good." Diggle groaned, "And you have to either fight him off or wait for the FBI, assuming they aren't dirty enough to save you?"

"I had to do something to throw him off of his game, and let Laurel catch him unawares." She huffed defensively. "How did you know I was here?"

"Who do you think?" Diggle asked with a small smug grin on his face.

Felicity. Too bad that when they needed to find Laurel, Felicity could never find her.

"Felicity," John answered for her.

"Well, I took a shot, even if it wasn't from a bowstring. More than what you and Felicity have been doing for Laurel. We are supposed to be a team. Ollie would be really pissed off if he found out that his best friends have turned their back on the woman he married."

"You took a shot alright," Diggle replied, "And tomorrow, there will be an army shooting back, dammit Thea! We have enough to deal with the League, Nyssa, and keeping the city from killing itself." he then sighed, wiping his face. "I regret that I wasn't at Verdant when _it happened_. If things were different, you know that I would be there for Laurel in a heartbeat, but The League will be heading here soon."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Siobhan followed Beckett through the hotel hallways to enter the hallway just below Brickwell's suite; the whole wing looked like it was closed for repairs; she watched as Beckett unlocked a door, and guided her in. Smythe walked in to see Brickwell sitting there with a waiting expression.

Smythe looked around to see the computer monitors, showing security footage, "This was here the whole time and no one ever knew?"

"Very astute."

"We—I have a problem, Sir." She said nervously, as she laid her trust into the man that helped her feel at ease, made her feel like she belonged. "Watson knows. And she wasn't alone."

"I know," he said softly, "A problem that we will solve together." He assured her, before standing and dwarfing her, "Shivvy." He said softly, reminding her that he was her north star, her friend. It made Siobhan feel safe. "Rage cannot stay inside, it needs to be channeled, or it becomes a poison. I find a primal scream is the only remedy, I trust you."

He left it unspoken about what he trusted her about. He trusted her not to use her scream on him, and just used a normal primal scream. "Arghh!" She screamed as she collapsed against Brickwell and felt his strong arms wrap around her in a comforting hug.

"I have you. You're safe." He said gently, as he held her.

**:-:-:-:-:**

In the storage locker, Laurel listened to the recording, as she wrapped her hands, Ted sat in the corner, watching her with a careful eye. "You want to say it don't you, Ted?"

"Say what?" He asked dumbly.

"You read her bio, she lost her fiancé to a violent crime, lost one parent, the other became estranged. You want to make the comparison to me and her."

"Did I?" He asked, letting her vent.

"But I'm nothing like this Smythe woman, the recordings make it sound like she was always a monster, without remorse. A psychopath." She looked down at the floor, as she stood there in her tank top, and pants, her arms glistened with sweat.

When Ted didn't speak, she continued, "I'm not." She said more to reassure herself than him. They may have shared similar stories, but Laurel wasn't a killer. "I had a chance to stop her, Ted." She said with self-loathing, "I blew it."

"That's one way to spin it, Dinah." He said, "Or you can look at it like this; You stuck to your morals and kept your word to Agent Watson."

She swallowed, looking at her mentor, her eyes welling up with unshed tears, "And how many will die because I was too weak to act?" She internally kicked herself, feeling that Ted was holding her back. Ollie could have taken down Tempest and Malcolm by himself by any means necessary, she held him back, just as Ted was doing for her. She had to be decisive and strong.

Perhaps it was time for her to go out alone? After all, she had once believed that justice could be found in a court of law, but she was deluding herself. Brick had shown her the truth, that only darkness could defeat darkness. And that she had to do whatever it took to ensure that he was given justice, to ensure her family was safe.

She grabbed her makeshift-suit and left ignoring Ted asking her to come back.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Al Sah-him walked into Ra's meditation chambers and sat beside him. The older wizened man had started to look more sickly. He looked more gaunt and was coughing more in the past few days. The pit had stopped working on him. This is why Ra's has accelerated the timeline of his plans. He wasn't long for the world. The League would then look to him to succeed Ra's. And the man was something like a father to him. Especially after they had discussed Oliver Queen fighting to maintain his existence especially after the interrogation of Malcolm Merlyn.

"I feel him. I feel him in my heart, in my soul. Clawing to be let out. Oliver Queen has been struggling to be free. I need your advice."

Ra's looked up at him, his neck creaking and gave him a fatherly smile. "You have a great many trials ahead of you, my son. And the only way to silence Oliver Queen is to kill utterly. But first, you must bring another rogue agent of ours back to Nanda Parbat. Then we can work on destroying Oliver Queen, by you bathing your sword in the blood of his loved ones."

"I will do what you ask, My Liege."

Ra's exhaled through his nose with amusement. "You will. Every heir has to kill the city and their closest kin. The hardest task. But one that is worth it to show that you are truly capable of leading this organization, and are shown to be worthy of using the pit." Ra's then sighed. "My Seer told me that a man who would challenge who hailed from the Modern World would bring The League into a new golden era. That is why you must kill Oliver Queen absolutely, by slaying his family and his city."

Ra's then stood up and unsheathed his blade and rested it against Al Sah-him's neck. "Who are you? Who do you serve?"

"My name is Al Sah-him, Heir to the Demon. I am loyal to the tenants of The League, and to you, My Liege."

"Yes, you are my son. You have my blessing to travel to Starling City. Remember that Oliver Queen is weak, but you are not, my son. Fetch me, my daughter, and your future bride. You two shall wed after you do your duty."


	20. Lost Canary

Nyssa stood on a rooftop, praying that her friend was safe, she also looked up at the night sky, remembering teaching Sara about the constellations. According to ancient League manuscripts, some of the star's alignments foretold either fortune or an omen. To her beloved though, they were just something beautiful to look at.

She heard the man that had been hunting her down, "This is where my beloved departed this world. Do you even remember Sara? Or what of your family? Thea, Laurel or your son, Connor?" She asked, not looking back towards him, "Or has my father erased them from your memory as if it were a slate board?

"Ra's al Ghul, orders you to return back to Nanda Parbat. I was sent to retrieve you. The other threats to my ascension will be dealt with later. "

Nyssa turned to face the man that she once considered a friend, a man who was now her father's malleable male heir." To face justice? If so, for what crime?" She asked, "If to face vengeance, if so, for what offense?"

"They are one and the same, Pretender. Justice and vengeance."

Nyssa fired several arrows at the shell that once was Oliver Queen, following him across the rooftop, only for him to finally turn towards her firing his arrows, which she deflected with ease, with her scimitar.

The pair swung their swords at one-another, parrying and sending slashes at each other. Every move was deliberate and precise. Eventually, Nyssa was disarmed, and at the mercy of her beloved's brother-in-law.

Al Sah-Him's blade cut slightly into Nyssa's neck, a thin line of blood dripped from her wound. "Do it." She goaded him. "If I shall die this night, let my blood be spilled on the same ground as Sara's." She said as she felt the cold sharp steel against her neck.

A second later, a flashbang arrow exploded, Al Sah-Him, stood up from Nyssa and looked at a familiar-looking woman in a red hood, her bow drawn, next to a man that he had no recollection of. The man, like the woman beside him, had his weapon aimed at him.

"We can't let you take her, man."

"Ollie!" The woman in red said with her voice thinking with emotion, "Please." She begged, though didn't lower her bow. "Laurel needs you!"

Al Sah-Him looked at the Ruby Archer, then at the man with the gun, then back at Nyssa. He evaluated risk vs reward, before jumping off the side of the roof and disappearing into the night. He would devise a plan to deal with them.

But right now, something felt wrong, when he saw the woman in red, he had to overcome his primitive instincts to protect her and help her with her quest to help the woman named Laurel. Malcolm had said that she was his… Oliver's wife.

Al Sah-Him had remained strong and remained true to his liege. He didn't let Oliver Queen win.

:-::-:-:

Samanda pulled up and stopped in front of a house. Once she stopped, she felt the sharp pain in her side, she slowly put her hand to her white blouse, and pulled back with a shaky hand, seeing a red liquid coating her fingers, blood.

She then climbed out once she saw Agent Johnston pull into the driveway behind her, and climbing out of the car. "Want to explain to me why we are out here in the suburbs of Lamb Valley?"

Samanda exhaled slowly, in an attempt not to anger her wound, "Once I explain everything to the SAC, and yourself, sir, you will understand everything."

"That better be the case, Agent." He said with a grumble, before the duo knocked on the door of Agent Talos' front door, a few long seconds later, the grizzled agent opened the door, looking between Samanda and the other agent.

"Once again, I'm sorry about this, Boss." With a jerk of his head, Talos invited the agents in and guided them into the dining room. "Sorry about the mess," he said looking around at the protective plastic sheeting around the room, "The contractor promised me he would be done with all this almost six months ago, the wife has been leaving him calls to get him back. His excuse is that Starling is in dire need of carpenters and other tradesmen in the CBD after The Siege, and The Undertaking." He then ducked into the kitchen to give them a cup of hot coffee, and put the milk and sugar on the table."

The other agent placed a recording device on the table as they looked at each other before all eyes were on Agent Watson. "Interview with Special Agent Samanda Watson and Supervisory Special Agent Tobias Talos, conducted by Supervisory Special Agent Johnston, OPR."

Samanda cleared her throat, it was her turn to show everything she had, to show her cards. "I don't know how to say this, so I will just get on with it. I have reason to believe that Daniel Brickwell is currently engaged in a conspiracy to manipulate the Federal Bureau of Investigation into becoming its unwilling accomplice."

Samanda swallowed hard to steal her nerves."I also have reason to believe that Brickwell has turned and coerced an agent on his detail. Special Agent Siobhan Smythe. I think that Smythe may have perpetrated the attack on the nightclub, Verdant."

Johnston let out a nervous chuckle, "What are you saying? Why are you saying it?"

Samanda pulled her jacket back to show off her blood-stained blouse."When I was pursuing my theory, Smythe shot me." After the OPR agent swore, she winced, re-applying pressure on her wound. "Sir OPR needs to conduct an investigation into Daniel Brickwell, Smythe and the whole conspiracy, effective immediately."

Talos' brow creased, "This happened on your watch, Watson. I'm placing you on administrative leave."

"I understand." She said apologetically. "You have my full cooperation," she then pulled out her service weapon and badge, placing them on the dining table. Samanda then looked at the OPR agent, "What's next?"

"We call you an ambulance…" Before Johnston could utter another word, a shot from beside Samanda's side hit Johnston in the throat, killing him instantly.

Watson turned to look at Agent Talos in shock, feeling the OPR agent's warm blood spattered on her face. "Sam put down the gun!" Before shutting off the recording, giving Samanda an irate glare, "Can't leave shit alone! Why did you have to bring this into my house!?" Her mentor then leveled his gun at her. "Sit back down, we need to talk."

A second later, a well-dressed man walks in, "Your prints, the recording and of course, your service weapon. Must I remind you of what this entails?" When Samanda didn't answer, her mind thought about how The Black Canary and Thea Queen had warned her about the cabal, about Brickwell. "This will go smoother if you answer my questions."

"Do you understand? Talos asked.

Agent Watson slowly looked to the man she admired, the man that had sold himself to the devil. The man that had allowed Brickwell's corruption to fester not just in Staring but the FBI, and its institution. "I understand, Boss." She answered defeatedly.

"I'm not your boss. Not anymore. Daniel Brickwell is."

:-::-:-:

Thea stopped in one of Nyssa's hideouts, with Connor in her arms. She found Nyssa binding her hands, not looking up, Nyssa's voice sounded cold, "You should not have interfered, Thea. You should not be thinking of anyone but yourself and your nephew."

"Well, I'm not. I lost a sister, a brother, my parents and a father figure, your like family, Nyssa. And I thought that by saving you, I could somehow save Ollie." And Ollie would help her with Brickwell to save Laurel.

Nyssa shook her head in sadness, "You don't understand, once your brother was taken by the League, my life had come to an end." She then finally looked at the younger woman, with her nephew in her arms. "Where are you headed to?"

Thea bit her lip. "I don't know, I screwed up, Nyssa. The man that is making Laurel's life a living hell, I waved a red flag in his face. Roy has left our apartment, and is living in The Bunker, he said that he, Diggle and Felicity will keep trying to protect you, and try to bring my brother home. Carry on Ollie and Laurel's legacy while I go into hiding, maybe find Laurel if I can apologize to her for betraying her."

Nyssa hesitated before she patted the girl younger woman on the shoulder. "You should speak to her mentor once again. He has what you seek. Your persistence should be rewarded, I should think." She hesitated for a second. "Keep Laurel's child, safe, Thea Queen. I think he and Laurel may be the key to releasing your brother from my father's iron grasp."

:-::-:-:

Laurel walked into Wild Cat's gym and carelessly dropped her bag on the ground making her way further into the gym, looking at the ring where she had taught Thea how to spar. She kept walking until she made her way to the bench.

She sat there in silence until her father's gruff, comforting voice came from behind her. It was something like a balm to her soul, knowing that he was here for her. "So, you are gonna abandon your ideals? What about your son, Honey? What will that teach Connor?"

"Ollie and I made contingencies. Thea can look after him, if not Ted will." There was also Roy and Walter. "He can, and probably will shun me when he grows up and learns that his mother is a killer. And I will happily endure his disdain if it means that he lives. I will happily live to be a pariah of The Team, and of my family if Connor and Thea get to live."

"Is this what this is about? Oliver abandoning you, his family? You know that he died to save the girl that I considered a third daughter, the young woman that you see as your sister, the woman that you helped to become independent and resourceful. You would have done the same if the positions were reversed."

"It doesn't make it hurt less." She replied sullenly, feeling her heartache. "He's still gone. And I'm lost."

Ollie would know what to do, and what was the right thing to do. God, she missed him.

"You need to pick yourself up. Show the world, show the others that you are the resilient girl that I raised into a woman. A good woman, Laurel. A Hero. We are Lances, Sweetheart. We get hit around and knocked down but we get back up. We endure. We always get back up."

Laurel blinked away her tears. "Easier said than done."She then grabbed one of the hammers that Ted or one of the carpenters must have left when repairing the gym, and slammed the tool down on someone's lock, breaking it. "If I had killed Malcolm with that fire the year before Ollie came home... Tommy would still be alive, Moira would never have been in prison. Maybe Slade never makes his move because the city is in a better, more stable place. You would still be here… How many people died because I was too weak to make a decisive move? Sara would be alive, and Ra's would have no reason to demand Oliver's blood. "

"That's a lot of maybes, and unnecessary guilt you are holding onto, Baby." He said as she continued to search in the other lockers until she found a pair of white boxing straps. Binding her wrists and hands would protect herself from injury since she didn't have her usual protective suit. "You have a code, Baby, it's why I never hunted you down. Sure, you beat the living snot out of people, but you don't kill."

"Sara killed people; Oliver killed people. If I wasn't holding onto my stupid pride, Brick and Merlyn would be dead." And everything would have been fine.

"Laurel, Honey, I always tried to teach you and your sister that just because someone does something bad or immoral, doesn't mean that you can get a free pass."

Laurel exhaled, as she then heard her father's voice turn into her dead sister's voice. "Doesn't matter in the end, you beat up people, send them to ICU. It doesn't make you any different to me."

Laurel swallowed, was there any difference? She crippled, how many people did she unknowingly kill when she had fought with people? Or Thea or Roy? She would be responsible for the blood on their hands just as much as her own.

"There is something wrong with us Sis," Sara said almost wearily, "It's just who we are."

"We let the darkness inside, and once it is let in, it never comes out." Laurel agreed. "When I finally get my hands on Brick. I am going to kill him."

"It gets easier Laurel, killing..." Sara said softly. "But the guilt.."

Laurel chewed her lip, wincing, "I'm not doing this for me. I'm just doing whatever it takes to keep Connor and Thea safe." She would gladly endure torment for her sins as long as it ensured that her baby and her sister were safe.

It was then Ollie's ghost to haunt her. "Is that what you are doing, Laurel? Or are you using Brickwell as an excuse to beat the shit out of people? A convenient excuse to hurt people without oversight after your hiatus from vigilantism?" After a moment his voice turned to a low growl, "Leaving _my _son to fight Brickwell is selfish! You have shown your true colors, Laurel. You're not the woman that I fell in love with. She was a lie! And that's why you abandoned the team to go on a stupid impulsive blood-vendetta!"

Was that what she was doing?

No.

Connie was defenseless, and the only way to keep the target of his back was to stay away from her son, her sister and wave the red flag towards Brick to keep his attention solely on her. To keep him away from Brick at all costs. All that mattered was that Connor was safe and healthy. Her health didn't matter. The bruises, the broken bones, nothing mattered beyond killing Brick.

"I'm just doing whatever it takes. Something that you would do, Ollie."

:-::-:-:

Thea found Ted out in a park feeding the ducks with a large loaf of bread, he threw the bits of bread and watched the ducks and geese hoard towards the food. The little boy cackled at the sound the ducks made.

Thea forced a smile to her lips, and knelt down, her hand still holding his, "What sound do ducks make?" She asked playfully before making the sound. "Quack. Quack" Making her infant nephew cackle again. Before he tried to move his mouth to make the sound of the word, but couldn't manage anything but babble.

She then slowly walked towards Laurel's mentor, hesitatingly sat beside him, bringing her nephew to her lap. "I don't know where she is. I looked around the whole damn city for her!" He said defeated. Judging by his

"Why, what happened?" She asked as Connor watched the ducks intently as they waddled around the bench.

"She is having a crisis of faith in herself. She thinks her code— is holding back from stopping Brick and his hitwoman." Ted answered softly, as he handed Connor more bread. "It will be good for her to see her sister and her son."

"I—We can't. Brick knows about who Laur—" she stopped, not knowing if Connor would recognize his mother's name. "Dinah is. I have to warn her before we run."

"Damn." He muttered, "Do you have a plan?" Thea shrugged helplessly, reminding Ted of just how young Thea was. "You will stay with me, I will protect you and Connor, give me a day to make a few calls, I could arrange you shelter hallway across the world."

Thea wept, silently, holding back tears for her nephew. "Okay."

:-::-:-:

Samanda stood alone on the edge of the bullpen as her Agent Talos made the announcement that Special Agent Siobhan Smythe, Brickwell's puppet, would be reinstated effective immediately. She watched as Smythe stood forth with a proud smile.

Everything happened in a blur until she felt Smythe give her a pat on the shoulder. "It's all thanks to you, Sam. Someday, I hope to pay you back for everything you did."

Watson felt sick to her stomach. The whole institution was being infected by Brickwell. The FBI was no longer a part of the justice system. They were criminals. Their only hope was that the Black Canary would clean up the mess. Only she could exercise the traitors from the organization.

:-::-:-:

Al Sah-Him stood in one of the League's hideouts, looking at the bound figure of Lyla Michaels as she dialed a burner phone. He waited several seconds for the phone to ring, before he heard breathing on the other end of the line, "John."

_"Oliver?"_ He heard the man ask in confusion.

"Oliver Queen died. I am Al Sah-Him, Heir To The Demon." He said resolutely, before continuing, "Let me assure you, no harm will come to Lyla as long you comply, and that as we speak, My Liege's men are hunting down the traitor known in your world, as Malcolm Merlyn. We have already slain his lieutenant in Australia, bring us the other turncoat, and your wife will still breathe."

_"Lyla... Oliver, I need my wife back. And you need to help yours. Oliver— Laurel, and Thea… Your family is in danger!"_

"You will bring Nyssa." He said, cutting off the man on the other end of the call, "To the warehouse on Fullerton and Halsted, and your beloved shall be free." After hearing John Diggle threaten him, Al Sah-Him gave the man thirty minutes to comply, before hanging up.

:-::-:-:

John looked at Nyssa, Felicity, and Roy. "He has Lyla!" He growled. "Oliver has my wife, he is going to kill her if I don't hand you over, Nyssa," Diggle said, giving the assassin a pleading look.

Nyssa quirked her brow and spoke after a long moment of silence. "And what makes your family more important than my own, Laurel, Connor, Thea?"

"Nyssa, please!" Diggle begged Nyssa.

The woman nodded, after a second. "Though, it is not for you, but for Oliver, and for Laurel. You are lucky that my beloved's sister has a gentle heart and would not want someone to die because of her. Be sure to thank Laurel for treating me no differently to the rest of her family."

:-::-:-:

The FBI left the vehicles, and entered a chop-shop to see the garage door open, Samanda followed Smythe into the room to use her screams, knocking down the runaway woman.

Samanda could only watch in fear and growing resentment as Smythe moved towards the fallen woman, who was bleeding, and she turned to see another older man being arrested.

"Victoria Sinclair you are coming with us," Smythe said gleefully as she sent a hard kick to Sinclair's side before she hauled the woman to her feet and dragged her out to the van. When Smythe came back into the shop, she spoke to Watson, sporting a smug grin. "We have sent agents all over the city, and Daniel Brickwell's influence grows exponentially."

:-::-:-:

At Wildcat's gym, Laurel is pounding her frustration into the hard bags, she immediately stopped as she heard her phone ring, she jumped over the ring to pick it up, and answers, "Yeah?"

_"Brick has left the FBI."_

Laurel froze, "How?"

_"Smythe wasn't the only FBI agent that he had under his thumb. But she is taking Brick to have a sit down with the remaining crime-bosses"_

Laurel ran a hand through her damp hair, "The location?"

"_I'll send you the address. If you can catch him in the act..."_ The woman didn't sound the same. She sounded scared.

Laurel found herself smiling, despite it. "Thank you, Watson. This is our chance to make things right." She could practically see the light at the end of the tunnel. A traitorous thought asked her how many times she had felt that way in the past year. Too many times.

Her father's voice came to her again, "You can't be serious, Laurel? You really think that this Watson is still one of the good guys?"

Laurel sighed as she began stretching, "Doesn't matter. Not anymore."

"It's a trap, Laurel!"

Laurel shadowboxed and tightened her wraps slightly. "The only difference is... I know it is a trap this time."

"When was the last time that you used those kinds of wraps in the field, sweetheart? Back when Ted was training you, right?" Her father never knew that it proved to her what she had suspected for a long time, she has been hallucinating, or being visited by ghosts. When Ollie experienced them, he had to listen to them before they finally left.

"Her cry is stronger than mine, she knows how to use it since she was a little girl. I need to get in close, and hit hard and fast." The wraps would protect her wrists.

"Don't be bull-headed, Laurel. Don't let our Lance genes allow you to be impulsive, and get yourself killed. Take a breath, call Thea. Ted will even join the fray. I don't want to see you die. Laurel, Baby, c'mon. Everyone leaves us because we are cursed, Laurel. You and me. Your mother left us; Sara left us. Oliver left you. Don't let Connor be tainted by the curse like we are."

"So, all this?" She asked with a lump in her throat, "All this is my fault?"

"Will you take a hard look at yourself?" He asked her before his voice turned into Oliver's.

"You put on that mask, to hurt people. It makes you feel like you are doing something important. Something noble. You failed _our _family, Laurel. You failed me! You should have gone into hiding when you found out about him, listened to Diggle and Felicity."

Her husband's voice started distorted into a cockney accent that forced her to clench her fist, her knuckles cracking under the pressure. "You think that leaving Connor alone, to fight me is for the greater good, you claim to fight for justice, but that isn't the truth."

It was now just Brick speaking to her from behind, "The truth is, Darlin'. Sara, Thea and your husband are cut from the same cloth. Triggermen who take satisfaction in killing. Then you have the girls' eldest sister, Oliver's wife. A woman that has been blinding herself in an attempt to think she is better than they were. That she is somehow morally superior in an attempt to justify why she has left her own son to become an orphan."

"You are nothing. You have always been nothing!" Brick continued, before Laurel lost it, she spun on her feet, sending a right hook to his face, and proceeded to beat the imaginary Brick into the ground, before finally snapping his neck.

Laurel blinked as she heard his neck snap, looked around to see nothing, she felt bile rise in her stomach before she left the gym towards the door. She couldn't look back. Not now, after Brick was at her feet with a crushed trachea, or broken neck would her son be safe. She couldn't let Brickwell or her hallucination of him best her.

:-::-:-:

Brick sat at the head of the table in a wine cellar looking across the table he could see a handful of the criminal elite and mobsters of the city. Councilman Kullens, Reverend Swanson, a man of the cloth, and unknown to most once of the best fences in the city, Tobias Church, Judge McGarvey, and a few other men and women that were once apart of Tempest that managed to avoid the ire of Malcolm Merlyn, or the Green Arrow and Black Canary.

"You are here today because I offer you my protection. Under my protection, you will be shielded from investigations and prosecutions by the federal government"

Church appeared irritated when he glared at Samanda Watson and another FBI agent. Before glaring at Brickwell. "Bullshit, Brickwell. This is a sting!"

Kullens sniggered and added. "Jury if you can hear this on tape, I'm innocent and doing this under duress."

McGarvey shifted his weight on the chair. "How much?"

"Twenty percent, Your Honour."

"Christ!" Someone said that Brick didn't see.

"On everything." Brick clarified, his eyes locking on to each person one by one, looking at Samanda Watson who looked uncomfortable.

"It's a wonder how you keep your clothes so clean, with the amount of bullshit you speak. There is no point denying it. We all know what this is. We are just sacrificial lambs so that you can buy another month in your castle." Church then started to rise from his chair. "I'm out, I'll be safer on my own."

The door behind him opened slowly, followed by the echoing footsteps of his enforcer, Sionbahn Smyth, his Banshee to Starling's Canary, instead of the wig that she wore in Verdant, the woman now had died her hair grey-silver. The Silver Banshee stood above the men and women menacingly in her black suit with coattails.

Smythe sauntered over to Church, holding his arms in a bind as she screamed her high-pitched scream into his ear, killing him. Brick noticed how sickly Watson started to look at witnessing the death of the man as his brain matter leaked out of his ears.

Daniel Brickwell exhaled, allowing the death of Tobias Church, a known gangbanger and drug dealer, to sink in. They were either with him or against him, and if they were against him they were dead and he would absorb their assets. "The protection levy is now thirty percent."

McGarvey tapped his fingers on the granite table. "You certainly have a flair for the dramatics, Mr. Brickwell. I suppose there is only one question that is worth asking, where do I drop the cash?"

:-::-:-:

Laurel walked into the Hochman Hotel, bypassing people through the narrow corridor, before pulling the fuses out of the hotel, forcing a blackout, before she made her way up to the penthouse, waking in slowly, she looked around the grand apartment in shock and disgust.

She walks up the stairs, and cautiously into his bedroom, looking around before entering his closet to find scuff marks on the carpet as if something ran across the carpet. As she gently moved the bookshelf, which slid across automatically, Laurel looked around, before slowly making her descent into Brick's den.

:-::-:-:

Samanda watched as the room became as silent as a crypt. They received word that the Black Canary was now in the hotel. It wasn't long before Smythe marched slowly towards her, locking eyes with Watson beneath her black mask.

If you tip her…"

Watson blew out a breath. "I said exactly what you told me to say." She turned to see a smug smirk painted on The Banshee's face. "You were right there."

Brick rose from his seat towering above everyone else. "Let's go."

Samanda felt the guilt rise in the back of her throat at the guilt of throwing The Canary of Starling CIty under the bus, she was the only person who was trying to keep the city safe from Brickwell and his influence."

:-::-:-:

Laurel stopped at the door, to see a young African American man, sitting frozen at the computers, "Are you going to kill me?"

"Not you, Mr?"

"Holt. Curtis Holt." He whimpered, not looking back at the vigilante. "Are you going to kill Brickwell?" He then swiveled in his chair to reveal Brick's ankle monitor on his leg. "Thank god!"

"When will he be back?" Laurel asked as she glanced around the dimly lit room, wondering how Brick managed to pull the wool over the FBI's eyes long enough to make his own Bunker. All of a sudden, the light shot back on, as did the security feeds on the monitor. "Thank you." She whispered, before getting ready to make her surprise attack until she heard the FBI agent speak over the feed.

_"Thea Queen has been spotted with an older gentleman, and an infant, at the old abandoned Queen Manor. Keep any and all SCPD units clear of the location until specified otherwise."_

Laurel froze, and glared at the young man in the seat, "What does Brickwell want with Thea Queen and her nephew?"

Curtis didn't answer for a second, making Laurel's insides twist in anxiety. "He wants her and the child killed." Laurel's shoulder stooped, as she saw in her mind Thea, and Connor murdered, with Brick standing above them with a blood-curdling smile. She should never have left her baby, her sister. Her family.

She had a choice, that wasn't a choice. stay here and ambush Brick but her son and sister will be murdered, or leave and protect her family, but Brick still gets allowed to breathe and regroup.


	21. The Fall Of A Hero

Thea walked, sitting in the large living room that her mother and father had once used as the room to meet important guests, and was often the main room that they held functions in. Now, the room was the only thing apart from Ted and the men he hired as guards protecting her and Connor. The room was bare except for some furniture that wasn't removed and instead was covered by old dusty sheets.

She removed a sheet, and sat her nephew on the sofa, and handed him a couple of stuffed toys, before pacing around the room, wondering what she was going to do next. A few seconds later, she heaved her nephew into her arms and put her fingers to her lip.

She heard creaking from the front door, followed by shuffling, she looked back to where she had left Connor, to see the sole bare sofa, with one of his toys on the ground. She had forgotten to cover her tracks in an attempt to keep him safe.

A few seconds later she watched as Ted walked in, holding a couple of bags of Big Belly Burger. Thea slouched, "Will it offend you, to say that I can't wait for all this to be over?"

Ted shrugged, sitting on the sofa, and placing the bag on the coffee table, "I made a few calls, I can get you and Connor out of the country soon enough. Egypt seems your best bet, an old buddy of mine works with the ruins over there. Kent Nelson. He's a good man. He can get you a job, and you can live a normal life." He said, taking a sip of his coffee.

She left her nephew down, to watch him scurry off to pick up some chicken nuggets. She hated how she had been giving her nephew a lot of fast food recently, but she hoped that Laurel would understand if she managed to get out of the abyss she had found herself in. "I don't know what I can do."

Ted took a sip of his coffee, "My friend, once told me that everyone is fighting a war within themselves. A war that many don't see. Though, there are times when people see it."

Thea smiled at her nephew, as he tried to feed his stuffed bird, "What do you do when you feel like you have lost? Ollie is indoctrinated by Ra's; Roy and the others are trying to stop whatever it is they are doing. And Lau… Dinah" She corrected herself, looking at Connor, "She's fighting against Brick, and I tried to help her, I did Ted, instead I basically handed my sister over to him on a golden platter."

"A woman that I see as a daughter came to visit me a little while ago." He said it as if he was remembering it.

"Laurel," Thea said almost inaudibly.

Ted nodded, "She was looking for advice, or permission to do what she believed to be necessary. All I could think about was how her situation was similar to what I and Stanzler had to deal with. I gave her the advice to keep playing by the rules I taught her. Perhaps I am getting old, and the rules have begun to change. I thought her to live in the world as it ought to be, to show it what it can be. But… The World has started to beat the light out of her."

He looked back up at Thea, "I can't argue with her perspective, everything she has ever loved is being torn away from her, piece by piece. She's a single mother trying her best to save her family at any cost."

"How could I live with the guilt of abandoning her?" Thea asked almost inaudibly.

"She gave you the most precious thing in her life." He said looking down at Connor playing with his toys, "I don't think she would expect anything from you, apart from keeping her son alive and healthy."

A tear slid down her face. "I told Brick who Black Canary was… When I was leaving his penthouse, he threatened Connor."

"Nothing that you have done, or will do, can't be redeemed. I believe that under all the pain she is suffering, she still has her generous heart. She would forgive her baby sister. Especially when your intent matters. You were doing what you could to save your family. Like Dinah is doing."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel stared at the man at the computers, seeing Brickwell's FBI convoy pulling up in the garage. She pointed at the monitors, "How long?" She asked. Her heart thumping against her chest wall.

Curtis Holt stammered, looking from the monitor to her, "I… uh… What?"

"How Long!?" She growled at him.

"Seconds? Minutes?" He answered her, looking truly frightened.

Laurel gasped for air, what on earth was she going to do? She could stop Brick here and now, ambushing him in his own room, where there were no cameras. But in doing so, she would be condemning her sister and baby to death. She couldn't let them die, no matter the cost.

She slammed her fist against the wall, even when the bastard didn't know her plans, he had managed screw her over. Time and time again, he kept winning despite her best efforts!

Laurel turned towards the door, only for Curtis to call out to her. "If you leave, I have to tell him that you were here. If I don't my husband-" Laurel swallowed hard, as Curtis Holt continued, "he will triple the security and it will rival Fort Knox."

Laurel stammered this wasn't supposed to happen. "No, no…."

"You can end this here and tonight." He insisted, "I can see that this Thea Queen and her nephew are important to you, but as Mr. Spoke once said; The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one."

The pair watched from the monitor as Brick was escorted out of his armored car. He was being escorted to the suite above her. She could see Mr. Holt looking at her with pleading eyes. She could never turn her back on her loved ones.

Connor was her baby boy, the most important person in her life. And Thea… The young woman looked up to her, was her best friend. They had saved each other countless times. The last of her family.

"You do what you have to do, Mr. Holt, to keep your family safe." And I shall do the same.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Thea watched as Ted tucked his jacket around Conner as if it were a blanket."The little guy is tucked out." He then looked at Thea, "I have a few people who owe me favors, of the rougher sort, walking around the mansion."

Thea gave him a thankful gesture, "Thank you, Ted."

"I'm just grateful that Dinah let me be a part of her life, and that you and the others accepted me, and let me be a part of your family. United we stand, Speedy."

"United we Stand, Wildcat."

The fake Black Canary walked in through the front door, "Thea Queen!" She shouted as they heard steps, until the woman in her sister's suit had blood-soaked hands, with a red-stained blade.

Thea jumped in front of the sofa, which held Connor, who was now sobbing from being forced to wake up from the yelling. She hadn't noticed Ted shoving her nephew into his arms, and telling her to run. Thea knew the mansion better than everyone else. It was her childhood home and she could remember playing hide and seek with Oliver and Tommy growing up.

She was about to dash into the other room, leaving Ted alone with Laurel's double, until Black Canary threw a knife, just missing her, Thea stopped dead in her tracks before quickly hiding her nephew in one of the storage closets and asked him to keep quiet before she to gave him his toy, before closing the door.

Thea then walked back to the room she had fled from. "I'm here. No one else needs to be hurt."

Her sister's evil twin smirked, "Hello, Thea, we meet again." She then threw a knife at Thea. Thea expected to have been killed, she would have gladly given her life for her beloved nephew. Only the knife never came, she turned to see the knife in Ted's chest.

Ted Grant stumbled slightly while holding the knife in his chest before he fell to his feet with a loud thump. "I'm… proud of you two... My Birds of Prey..." he whispered to Thea before his eyes glazed over.

Ted Grant dived in front of her, to take the proverbial bullet for her. Thea felt sick, and time moved slowly as she raced out of the room to try to find Connor, and escape. Only for a loud scream to be heard, and Thea flew across the room and hit the wall.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel walked in wearing her impromptu vigilante attire, it had felt like years since she had walked through the old Queen Manor. Her heart kept thumping as she saw men who either had their necks snapped, or their throats slashed.

She walked past the foyer and into the room that Moira had used as a meeting room for business meetings and philanthropy events. That's when she saw Ted laying in a pool of his own blood, a knife protruding from his chest.

Her heart stilled, "Ted, Ted Teddy!" She screamed at him, slapping his face. Tears left her eyes and slid down her face, the man she saw as a second father had been killed by Brick and his puppet canary. "Please…" She sobbed, clutching shirt. "Don't leave me, Teddy!"

Ted had given up his life to protect Thea and his surrogate grandson. He had always told her that he wished that he had given his life to protect his family, and now he had. A tear slid down her face as she kissed his brow, thanking him.

She looked across the room to see Thea knocked out, she looked as if she had been thrown across the room, Laurel walked over to her to see, her baby sister's eyes flutter. She was alive. "L…Laurel…Connor… He's hiding… need to save him…So sorry."

Laurel wiped her eyes, as she gently kissed her sister's cheek, and left the room and around several hallways to find her doppelgänger about to open a closet, Laurel silently walked behind the woman and threw her over her shoulder.

Faux-Canary rolled backwards, only to hear Connor's sweet voice, crying out for his mother, "Mommy?"

The woman sneered as Laurel charged towards her, engaging in close-quarter combat, grabbing Smythe's wrist that held the knife, while sending a hard-right hook to the woman's face, eventually relieving her of the blade. Laurel then proceeded to grab a fist full of Smythe's silver hair, slamming Smythe's head through the stained glass window.

The woman grabbed the powdered glass in her hand and tossed it towards Laurel. Laurel closed her eyes, feeling the small cuts on her face before she felt a leg sweep beneath her leg and being forced into the chest of drawers with her Banshee Wail.

Laurel fell to the ground, feeling her body ache, and she could only watch dazedly as Thea stumbled into the hallway, clutching her leg, who walked towards the woman, who opened the door of the closet that Connor was seeking refuge in.

Laurel and Thea could only watch helplessly as the woman pulled another knife from her belt, ready to slash at her son, only for Connor to scream and both mother and aunt watch in awe, as Connor's scream suddenly turned into a canary cry, flinging back her doppelgänger.

_SCREEEEEE_

Laurel stood up, wanting desperately to ensure that her son was alright, to comfort him, Laurel picked up her son, whispering sweet things in his ear, and kissing the crown of his head. Thea reluctantly managed to take Connor into her arms. "I'll get Connor out, you handle this bitch!" Thea growled.

Laurel hesitated before nodding, she ran towards the woman who stumbled to her feet, and delivered a quick punch to Smyth's throat, taking some sense of pleasure in hearing the woman who almost killed her son, and sister, the criminal who killed Ted, gasp for air.

Laurel reefed The Banshee out the door and back into a new hallway. Smythe picked up another knife, from her boot, and before she threw it, Laurel ducked and kicked out, sending the woman back into the living room.

Smythe rolled away when she turned and used her Banshee Wail, sending Laurel flying through the railing of the stairs, and watched as Laurel rolled down the steps with little to no movement, as Smythe in the Black Canary suit advanced upon her slowly, Laurel managed to crawl up a few steps, only for her legs to be pulled out from beneath her.

Laurel turned around to see the woman raising one of the fire pokers, ready to puncture her chest. Before Smyth had a chance to land the fatal blow, she watched as two arrows hit the Psycho-Canary, forcing the woman to stumble backwards, and to the floor below due to the railing being destroyed earlier.

Thea rushed over to her sister, gently cupping her battered and bloody face, "Laurel! Oh, my god! Laurel, you have to wake up, open your eyes…Please?" She sobbed, clutching Laurel's jacket in her fists. "I can't lose you too, Laurel! Connor needs you!"

All of a sudden, Laurel inhaled deeply, startlingly, Thea. "Hey."

Laurel panted, as she struggled to sit up, let alone stand, "I can't let her leave— Connor? Where's Connie, Speedy?" She rasped out.

Thea tried her best to give her a smile, "Connie's in my old room, turns out I didn't remove all my old toys." Her old archery gear when she was a teenager. She looked over the broken balustrade, to see that Laurel's evil twin had vanished. She turned back to her sister, who hadn't moved. "Laurel?"

No answer.

Thea called out again, which brought Laurel back to earth, "Speedy?"

"Yeah, we need to go." She said as she heard the police sirens, followed by the red and blue lights dancing together through the windows. "I'll, get Connor, you have to be ready to leave when we get back."

Laurel nodded as she used the wall to pull herself up, and looked down the steps to see Ted's unmoving body. "She killed him." She whispered, "She killed Teddy." Laurel's mind flashed seeing Joanna's body, to Tommy's, Her fathers, Sara's… and now Ted's. She didn't even want to imagine seeing Ollie's body, not after Ra's had finished with him.

Thea came back, "I'll stay here, explain what happened. Maybe it's better if Connor stays with me, they may know about him being here."

Laurel shook her head vehemently, "Can't," she said and continued before Thea could continue, "The woman who is wearing my suit. It's FBI Agent Siobhan Smythe. She works for Brick, and now…So does Agent Watson."

Thea gulped, looking at her nephew, before looking at his mother, "Which means if they see us, any one of us three… We will be killed." Laurel nodded gravely. They escaped through the side entrance and hid behind the large hedges.

As they knelt, Laurel looked at her sister, "Why didn't you run, Speedy?"

"Probably the same reason you didn't." Thea returned with a quirk of her brow and a sullen smile.

Laurel swallowed; she knew it wasn't fair wanting Thea to do what she herself had refused to do. "If you get caught, Speedy…if Connie gets caught…"

"I know, Laurel. It's my fault. Just like Sara, Ollie, and now Ted." Thea exhaled guiltily as Laurel held her baby boy in her lap for the first time in what felt like years, and gently hummed to him. "I betrayed the trust that you and Ollie put in me, you and Ollie trusted me to protect Connor, and he almost died, if he didn't inherit your cry…Brick knows who you are."

"I think he knew that for a while, Speedy," Laurel said, "And none of this is your fault. Not Ollie, Not Sara and not Ted. I don't blame you for their deaths. I never did." Laurel sounded so tired, not that she could blame Laurel. Laurel looked like she had gone a couple of rounds with Slade with his Mirakuru-enhanced strength. "I gave up my chance to ambush him, to take him out."

Thea bit her lip as she watched Laurel unwrap the straps around her right arm and played with her son's dirty blonde hair. Minus the blood, on her sister, it looked almost domestic. It's something she knew that Laurel and Ollie would have wanted if their self-imposed obligations to the city didn't get in their way. "What do you mean, you had him?" Thea asked, feeling slightly nauseous at the implication.

"I was in his penthouse. For the first time since this whirlwind of events happened, I had the drop on him."

"What were you planning on doing?" Thea asked, as she gently picked out a shard of glass from Laurel's cheek.

Laurel put her finger to her lips, before whispering, "I can see her, she's not wearing the suit anymore." Thea and Laurel watched as Smythe and Watson started canvassing the area in their windbreakers with their flashlights. After about a half an hour of searching, the SCPD and FBI looked like they were ready to leave the mansion, leaving behind a skeleton crew.

Laurel smiled as she heard her son's soft snores, despite the exciting day that he had endured. Apparently Connor inherited his father's talent at being able to sleep even when by all rights he should be on full alert. Always able to sleep whenever, wherever.

Laurel looked at Thea who looked at her with guilt. "Why is Brickwell hunting you?"

"A stupid plan to save you. I visited him, thinking that I could rattle his cage." Thea answered, avoiding her sister's eyes, instead, looking at the blades of grass that she had pulled out.

"To what end?" Laurel asked, looking up at her after she had been tracing her son's face with her eyes.

Thea hesitated, looking from son to mother, "Enough to make him lose his cool, and assault me in front of the FBI." Thea pulled another handful of grass from the ground, "It didn't work. But he—Brick surprised me when he asked how long I knew your secret. I didn't say anything… I tried to mask my emotions but…He saw through me."

"You tried to outthink him, make him act out irrationally?" Laurel asked with a weary sigh.

Thea nodded, waiting for Laurel to explode, to hit her. She would gladly take it, she deserved it. Even if Malcolm had orchestrated it, she had Sara's blood on her hands. She betrayed Ollie, betrayed Laurel, and Connor. "I know I was stupid and impulsive." Only the hit, the justified onslaught from the tired and battered mother, never came.

Instead, Laurel shook her head. "I don't think so." She said softly, looking up at her sister's surprised countenance. "It was brave. It was something that Ollie would have tried to do. I miss him."

"It doesn't matter, about Brick, I mean." Thea lamented. "He didn't take the bait, which was me taking the blame for taking his son away from him. I thought that if I could get him to aim everything at me, you could live happily with Connor. And now…Ted is dead because of me." She then waited a little while, "What were you going to do with Brick?

"Kill him." She answered. "Call me a hypocrite for stopping Oliver when he came back. You can judge me, hate me for it. I can take it."

"I get it, Laurel. Different circumstances, Ollie would have done the same. I just… I feel sad for you that you feel you have to cross that line. Killing anyone, Laurel will change you. Ollie, Digg, Roy and I can attest to that." Even Ted could have. "But I could never hate you, Laurel."

"I could never hate you either, Speedy." Laurel then pulled out her burner phone that had somehow survived the fight. "I have an idea, Speedy." Laurel prayed that her idea would work and that her father's name still held the weight it once did.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Brick stood in front of the hotel on top of a podium in a well-tailored suit, looking out to the crowd below, beside him was his ever-loyal lawyer, and his guards flanking them. His lawyer stood up and addressed the crowd first.

"For the past two years, for his unjust conviction on racketeering charges, Daniel Brickwell, our client, has maintained his good name, and more importantly his innocence. His slate remains clean." He then let the crowd absorb that, before continuing.

"Just under an hour ago, the second circuit of the court of appeals overturned the conviction of the innocent man, known as Daniel Brickwell. The Department of Justice, after learning of the error of their ways, has decided to let justice reign, and will not be proceeding with the charges. Daniel Brickwell is a free man once again, as it should have been from the beginning."

Brick ignored the booing, and stepped up, "I know for most of you, this will be a difficult pill to swallow. And I do not blame any of you for that, you have been manipulated into buying into the fairy tale that I am the big bad wolf. That I am a criminal. Quite the opposite is true, I was demonized due to challenging the systems. Because I tried to make Starling City a safe place, a beacon of hope. Because I didn't lie about inconvenient truths."

He squared his jaw. "I was berated and lost everything due to false allegations. They sent someone to frame me. The Black Canary." He sneered; he had her dead to rights now. And no one and nothing would prevent him from having his vengeance on the woman that had obliterated his life. "The killer who has now shown her true colors. A woman who has tried to murder people in what should be considered safe havens, places of recreation. Homes and Nightclubs. The Black Canary is our true public enemy!"

**:-:-:-:-:**

Frank Pike climbed out of his car, in front of the Queen Mansion. He wondered what Moira Queen would have thought of her home being used as a war zone, and the location of a homicide of a known community worker that has helped in both Starling and Central City. What made it worse, was that he received a call from Lance's only living daughter, she asked him to keep her family safe.

He turned to look at the female agent, "Agent Watson. I'm Captain Franklin Pike, I'll be running from outside."

Watson nodded dismissively, "Sure, great. We will share the info ASAP." Quentin's daughter had warned him that they may try to block him and the SCPD. If what she told him was true and the FBI were in Daniel Brickwell's pocket, he had to move quickly and decisively.

"That's all well and good, Agent. But something doesn't sit right with me. The Black Canary was sighted by the few victims who have survived, that she was targeting Thea Queen once again, and possibly her nephew, and yet you paint Miss Queen as her accomplice?"

Of the ten guards with a criminal past, only two of them managed to survive their wounds.

Watson looked at Pike, with a defeated look, "More is happening behind the scenes than you are aware of, Captain. I appreciate your input; however, this remains an FBI crime scene. I will endeavor to report any findings to you or your precinct."

He stopped as he came to his car, to see Thea Queen and her nephew in his police cruiser. He opened the back door, "What are you doing?"

"I'm surrendering myself into your custody." Thea Queen said looking bruised and battered. The girl holding her young nephew looked a lot younger than she was.

"What the hell is this!?" One of the FBI Agents asked from behind him.

"Who are you?" Pike asked, sizing up the woman who had charged towards the police cruiser, as well as Thea and Connor Queen.

"Agent Smythe." She answered. "She is a federal suspect." She said, pointing at Thea, though stopped as if her shoulder ached. Her eyes squaring on the younger woman in his cruiser.

It was the usual sign that Green Arrow, Speedy and Arsenal were around, someone trying to cover up their puncture wounds. And yet there was no report of them being present. Only the Black Canary. There was more happening than he knew, that was for sure. And Thea Queen and Laurel Lance were involved.

Pike shrugged, as about ten SCPD officers moved towards the car, blocking agent Smythe from getting near Thea Queen. "She is suspected of being an accomplice in a murder. That's state law. If you want to have a meeting with Miss Queen, she _may _be available once I have the writ in my hands."

"Is that her nephew?" Smythe growled, "I won't let you take them from us!"

Pike glared at the overzealous agent, before looking over his shoulders to see about ten cops. "You and what army, Agent?" He asked with a brow raised. "You planning on assaulting fellow officers of the law?" He then gestured to the camera on the dashboard, as well as cameras on some of the vests of the uniformed officers. He then gestures to the cuts and bruises on Smythe's face. "I suppose you want me to believe that Miss Queen, a girl born with a platinum spoon in her mouth, and an infant did a number on you? "

Agent Watson came over, putting a gentle hand on Smythe to calm her down. "A word captain?"

Pike moved back to the car and turned to speak to the agent. "Listen very carefully," Watson said softly so that no one else could hear them. "If we take Thea Queen into FBI custody, she and her nephew will be dead before she or the kid reaches HQ." Before Pike could move, Watson quickly added. "Don't react. Just get her the hell away from us, we clear."

"Crystal," Pike answered tersely.

Pike drove away from the mansion and eventually pulled up somewhere between the Glades and the City proper. He pulled the hand-brake, opened his door, and moved around taking a curious Thea from the car.

"The FBI won't be pleased that you let us go." Moira Queen's daughter said, looking around as if waiting for someone, eventually, he noticed a car pull up with a man in a red hoodie, waiting for her, judging by Thea Queen's lack of fear at noticing the man.

Pike scoffed, "They can kiss my police-blue ass. If I hadn't first heard it from Laurel, then saw it with my own two eyes, I would never believe it. I can't believe she only saw it coming. I don't know what you or Laurel have done to piss off Brickwell this much. But you CNRI girls are the real heroes. I'm sure that Quentin, Robert, and Moira would be proud of you two." He gave a small sniff before heading towards the open door of his car.

Thea smiled, "It was a little more than Laurel, but yeah, Brick did it while Starling has been dealing with everything else."

"I know." He said with a look that Thea couldn't decipher. He then gave a small smile. "You tell Lance's girl, that you two are not alone. And perhaps, perhaps I was rash when I outlawed vigilantes." He said sincerely. "The city went to hell without them. Lance was right, we need them to supplement our forces especially after everything that has been happening." Thea could only smile and gently readjusted her sleeping nephew on her hip. "Brick killed a lot of the boys and girls in blue. If you find a way to take that smug British bastard down, know that every SCPD officer will be shielding your back."

"Thanks, Captain Pike, and take care of yourself."

Pike gave a nod of his head, "You too. Quentin would come back from the grave if two of his three daughters died while under my duty as Captain, never mind his only grandchild. I don't know where Laurel or her husband are hiding, but they must be to trying to keep their son safe and this city safe. I would advise that you and Connor disappear with them, to whatever hole they have been hiding in. Godspeed, Miss Queen."

* * *

**A/N the next chapter is called _Family_ and will be the beginning of the end. And it will mainly be the end of most of the angst that this fic has been filled with.**


	22. Family

Roy and Thea found Laurel standing on a rooftop, they walked towards her. "I told you that if you needed help, we would be there, like it or not," Roy said, with a small smile tugging at his lips.

Laurel lowered her scarf and hood, "Yeah. Thank you," she said, looking at the pair. She had formed a real family with the team. She, Oliver, Thea. They were a family. Thea and Roy had not only taken care of her son but had also managed to protect her from the sidelines. She blinked. "Connor?"

"With Walter and Lyla at an ARGUS safehouse, with baby Sara. Walter was really nice about it. Connor just wanted to be with you, but Walter said that he can play with Baby Sara. Walter also knows about us, and Connor's powers. He told me to tell you that he is proud of you, me, Ollie and Roy. And promises he will never utter a word to anyone because we are family."

Laurel gave a hesitant smile. "Walter was certainly one of a kind. He hid the fact that he had to hide by masking it as a play date."

Laurel exhaled, feeling some of the tension leave her shoulders. "He's a metahuman." She sniffed. "Connie has the same cry as me." That was something that she would have to work out once this was all finished. How to navigate her son's powers while raising him, and more than likely without Ollie.

God, she wished that her dad was there with her. He could give her advice, even if he never raised a child with an awakened meta-gene, he could provide advice on how she could help Connor accept and use his powers safely. That would have to wait. She had to keep her eyes on the here and now.

Thea rubbed Laurel's arm, saying, "One thing at a time, we need to take care of Brickwell before we deal with the League." Laurel looked at her expecting her to elaborate, "Later." The younger woman promised.

Laurel gave him a teary smile as she embraced Thea. "Well, I just want to apologize to both of you. Leaving Connor in your care without asking, the way that I treated you… You deserved better. I haven't been the best teammate, sister, mother, or friend."

"It's been a shitty year, Laurel. "Roy said reassuringly, "We have all done stuff we wish we hadn't, but we have to just keep one foot in front of the other and hope that we don't repeat them." He then cleared his throat looking from his girlfriend to Laurel. "What's the plan now?"

Laurel bit her lip, "I don't like leaving you both again, leaving Connor, but I can't let you be accomplices in what needs to be done."

Roy quirked his brow as Thea clicked her tongue. "What happened to we need to help the system, ensuring that people don't fall between the cracks and not being judged jury and executioner? Together, you and I got it through my brother's head when he returned home from the hell he endured."

Laurel shook her head, her fingers brushing her hair back, "We put Brick in jail, Speedy and look what happened. He played the system. Maybe it's just better to put him six feet under."

"It won't be the same this time, Laurel. After the stunt, he has pulled, he would be lucky if he is given a cell in the general population of Slabside. They will throw him down the deepest hole and throw away the key."

"Speedy, I've been bitten by the man once after thinking he was locked away. We need to think about this pragmatically, some people are too rich, powerful or manipulative and the system cannot handle them."

"He wants us to think that Laurel!" Thea argued. "He is goading you. He wants you to lose by killing him. You become the monster he is!"

"Fine," Laurel said, leaning against the railing of the rooftop, and crossing her arms, feeling the cold metal through her clothes. She knew that the legal system wouldn't aid them in this fight, but she was willing them to prove her wrong. She owed them that chance after they have tried to help her and have been Connor's full-time carers. "You want to give the law another try?" She asked. "Speedy, I'm all ears."

"I don't know… What if we get another person to take the stand, and unlike Chill, we ensure that they live long enough to cut through Brick's webs of deceit and manipulation?" Thea asked as she hugged herself slightly from the cold breeze.

Laurel nodded, slowly. She knew just the woman who had everything and could ensure that Brick would go to jail and never see the light of day again. Samanda Watson. She just prayed that she wasn't making the wrong move in following Thea and Roy's plan of attack against Daniel Brickwell and his growing criminal enterprises.

Roy rubbed his gloved hands together. "I wish I could stay, but I have to help Felicity, and Diggle with another thing. Hopefully, if everything goes to plan, I will bring you all home a _surprise_."

The way her friend said those comforting words blossomed some hope in her chest.

Laurel smiled as Thea wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, and kissed him several times begging him to be careful. Roy then moved on to her and gave Laurel a hug. "You take care of yourself, Laurel. Remember, you always have a family to lean on. You, me, Thea, Connor… and Oliver are each other's _family_. We defend and look out for our own. Always."

"Thank you for everything Roy."

"I'm sorry about Ted, he was a good man." He said quietly, before pulling back and shrugging. "And I was just looking after my family. I don't need to be thanked for that."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Samanda ran through her apartment to quickly pile clothes and her personal effects into a duffle bag and swung it over her shoulder, before rushing out of her room, with her sidearm pointed away from her in case someone came for her.

She had no intention of marching down the road to Brick's drums, nor facing the wrath of the Black Canary. She had seen what had happened to Ted Grant and saw how Thea Queen had a bruise along her jaw and judging from her limp, along her legs.

As she walked towards the door, she had the forethought to look through the peephole to see some armed men walking down the hallway towards her apartment.

"Shit!" She swore as she backed away and bolted towards her room, where the fire escape was located just outside her window. As she opened her blinds, she backed up as a man aimed his rifle at her.

Within a second, the man was shoved through the glass window and was followed by Black Canary climbing in and using her nightstick to ensure the man was down for the count.

Samanda aimed her gun at the black-clad vigilante, who slowly raised her hands in surrender. "I'm not here to hurt you, Agent."

Samanda shook her head vehemently. There is no way that she could be forgiven by someone who she handed over to Brick. "But I betrayed your trust…"

"Under duress."

"I think that you just don't want one of Brickwell's cronies to be the one to kill me. You want the satisfaction of doing the deed yourself. I'm not an idiot, I know that The Green Arrow has killed people."

"He changed. He is not a bad person, and neither are you. Brick is. You saved Thea Queen and her nephew tonight." She said in almost a whisper. The Black Canary reached back and lowered her hood and scarf over her face, revealing Dinah Laurel Lance. Watson blinked several times to ensure that what she was seeing was real. "You saved my baby and my sister. I trust you, Samanda and I owe you for saving my family."

Agent Watson just stared at Dinah Laurel Lance. Everything was becoming clear, why Laurel had disappeared, left her son behind. Why Daniel Brickwell was so determined to destroy Laurel Lance's life, her reputation. But if she was the Black Canary… That would mean that Oliver Queen would be the real Green Arrow, and Thea Queen would be Speedy, one of the Red Archers. And perhaps the deceased Roy Harper was one of the red archers before he was killed?

It explained everything from the files that the FBI had gathered on the Black Canary since she had operated in Starling City. Why Detectives Quentin and Hilton were allowing vigilantes to operate in their cities, as well as working alongside them.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Daniel Brickwell watched as the helicopter landed on top of the building. He was about to see the most important person in his world. His son. Samuel. He watched as his beautiful son, who had taken after his mother, jumped out of the aircraft.

He felt someone stand next to him, followed by hearing the person whisper, "Watson has escaped."

Brick turned his head slightly and growled. "Find her!"

His eyes returned to see his son running towards him, he wasn't wearing proper attire that demonstrated to the world that he was not a common man. Samuel was wearing a blue and black plaid shirt and jeans.

Most likely all his foster parents could afford. That could be fixed rather easily now that Sammy was home.

Once his son came within arm's reach, Daniel Brickwell enveloped the younger Brickwell in an enveloping hug and kissed his crown.

"I missed you, Daddy." The boy said as he pulled back.

I missed you too, Sammy. You are home now, and that is all that matters." He had his family back home and safe. All he had to do now was make an example out of Laurel Lance, and Thea Queen and the rest of her allies would fear him enough to stay away, if not they could follow the Black Canary to the grave.

** :-:-:-:-:**

Laurel and Thea walked out of the small duplex that Ted had bought for whenever he was living in Starling for an extended period of time. Laurel exhaled as she looked out to the night sky. Both were enjoying the silence until Thea eventually broke it.

"I doubt anyone will be looking for Watson here. Not while… Ted's stuff goes through probate." Laurel, out of the corner, watched as Thea bit her lip. "Are you alright after everything happened with Ted?"

"Is I don't know a good answer?" Laurel asked tiredly, with guilt lacing her voice.

"Between everything you have been through, and what you are going through now, it's more than fair. I don't hold it against you, and neither would _he_. We just have to keep taking one step in front of the other."

"A shark that does not swim drowns," Laurel said softly. Thea quirked her brow in lieu of a question. "Ollie said it to himself and me a few times after…Sara's death." As well as Tommy's and Moira's deaths.

Thea rubbed her back gently in circles, "Speaking about Ollie, I'm not sure if you know this, but Oliver isn't dead. He was brainwashed by Ra's to be his heir. Roy is helping Felicity and Diggle try to help Oliver. Roy will bring Ollie back to you, I promise."

Laurel could only nod. As much as she wanted to help Ollie, she had to protect Connor and their city from Brickwell. Connor had to come before Ollie."I hope you are right about this, Speedy, dealing with Brick this way. I have been burned a few more times than I would like going down this path."

She was honestly tired of trying to do the right thing only for Brick to dismantle her plans. But Thea was adamant that she should keep trying, or at the very least give it another chance. Laurel at the very least believed she owed her sister that.

"One of the wisest people I know told me that we are there to supplement justice, not to be judge jury and executioner." That simple statement gave Laurel a small smile.

Not long after that, Samanda walked out of the duplex. "I've settled in. What's the plan?"

Laurel sighed, as Thea looked from her sister to the FBI agent. "You will testify against Brickwell. And before you do that, we, CNRI will represent you." Thea said.

Laurel spun to look at Thea with a shocked expression. "I thought that you…"

Thea shrugged nonchalantly, "I had a little accident at Verdant, and Ollie can have Queen industries. As much as I loved working as my own boss, it's not the same as working with you."

Laurel bit her lip and blushed slightly. She hadn't expected Thea to say anything like that, especially after the hellish year that their family had endured so far. "Partners?"

"Partners," Thea affirmed with a smile tugging at her lips before she enveloped Laurel in a hug.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel was in Wildcat's gym and pulled out a long foldout table from the storage room as Thea walked in with Samanda Watson.

"This your Office for CNRI?" The agent asked as she looked around in dismay.

Laurel shook her head as she placed out the seats. "No."

"Our first offices were donated to people needing a home after The Undertaking, and Verdant is well…" Thea added.

"Your law firm operated out of a night club?"

Laurel shrugged, "I needed somewhere to work from, and Thea and Ollie let me work out of the space rent-free, it's not really different from operating out of a function room. No one is partying at ten am."

Thea shrugged as she added, "Besides, she used my office most of the time, so even when the staff were preparing for the next night she and her clients were not disturbed."

"I am sorry about what happened at your family's mansion and Mr. Grant..." Watson said sincerely, looking between Laurel and Thea. "You both warned me about Brickwell…"

Laurel bit down her cheek, and tried to soldier on, nothing would be accomplished by her mourning and crying over Ted right now. She had to keep moving. "I appreciate the sentiment…Can we not talk about the manor right now?" Or Ted. "At the end of the day, you, Thea and I are on the same team, Watson. We both want Brickwell and Smythe to receive justice."

The agent's tongue darted out to wet her lips before she spoke. "I suppose we are."

Thea jutted her head towards the small hallway, "Might want to get into some nice clothes, and get ready." After Watson left towards the restrooms, she looked at her sister. "I'll go and ensure that everything is set up." She then leaned over and embraced Laurel. "Stay safe. Please. Don't do anything impulsive while, I'm gone."

Laurel returned her sister's embrace. "You too, Speedy. I love you."

Thea smiled as she jogged out of the gym, allowing Laurel together her thoughts she felt the feeling of butterflies in her stomach, she hadn't felt that feeling since before Sara died, before everything became hectic and she had to abandon her life to protect Connor and fight Brick. She had hope. Real hope.

She looked up as she saw Agent Watson walk in wearing formal attire, she stammered for a few seconds, "I just want to thank you for giving me a chance to get back on the right side of the law."

"You always had that opportunity."

Watson's eyes flickered towards her lawyer and scowled. "Brick ensures that people bend to his will. He canceled my brother's insurance. I had no choice but to rely on Brickwell to ensure that Georgie will get his treatment."

Laurel scoffed. "Then you sell your house, sell your car, you work something out."

"Easy enough for you to say, you married a wealthy man and befriended his rich sister."

"I never once asked the Queens for money. I gave Thea a job at CNRI but not for any privileges. I had every reason at that time not to help her. Her mother didn't even like that she had joined me at CNRI and was earning very little, at times not at all!" Laurel then shook her head, "We aren't talking about me, you are the one that gave him power, and you gave Daniel Brickwell a fancy castle."

"He was giving us valuable intel. Information that could save lives!" Samanda Watson argued.

"Even when it comes at the cost of other lives?" Laurel asked quickly.

"What the hell is this!? You are supposed to be my lawyer!?" She asked frustratingly towards Laurel.

"I am your attorney. But I can't help you if you won't help yourself and answer a simple question, why didn't you blow the whistle on him when you knew what was happening?"

"I don't know." She said defeatedly.

"Or what about when you had the chance to give up Smythe when she walked back into the Queen Manor after she killed a pillar of both Starling's and Central City's community? Captain Pike was right there, all you had to do was tell him, slip him a note. Anything. Why didn't you?"

"I don't know," Watson repeated sadly.

"Then why are we here!?" Laurel bellowed at her client. She was getting pissed off, she didn't have the time nor the patience to sugar coat her words.

"Because I let my pride and ambition get ahead of what was right…If I got more money for Georgie… I would also have been seen better by my peers. I would no longer in debt…All I had to do was get information from him." The woman sobbed, "I ruined my life by getting into bed with Brickwell…"

"It's not too late to make amends, Sam. You tell the DA all of this, and how remorseful you are. Thea and I can help you."

Thea walked in with the DA. "DA Susanna Pierce, meet Special Agent Samanda Watson of the FBI, and Laurel Lance."

The woman nodded as she sat down at the foldout table. "I must inform you, Agent Watson that Dinah Laurel Lance and Thea Queen have a vested interest in this case, and this will in all likelihood cause a conflict of interest that may be a detriment to your case."

Samanda's eyes looked from Thea to Laurel before looking back at the DA. "I trust them."

"Very well."

Laurel reminded the DA that anything that was said at the meeting would be under immunity for Samanda Watson. She then looked up from her notes. "Ms Watson would like to testify that Daniel Brickwell has had people murdered, that he has blackmailed law enforcement officials and is conducting a protection racket for criminals in Starling City."

The DA nodded thoughtfully, "Alright I accept the immunity agreement, tell me everything you know, Agent Watson."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Brick watched as Smythe walked in with a silver platter that held a teapot, a cup, and saucer made out of fine china. She gently laid it on the coffee table, and took a measured step back, bowing her head. "Anything else, Sir?"

"No, thank you." He noticed her eye twitch.

"I just want to reiterate just how sorry I am that Thea, and Connor Queen had escaped. If Agent Watson… I want to assure you that it won't happen again and that I take my responsibilities seriously. They will be taken care of."

Brick took a sip. "No." It was too much of a risk now. Thea no longer had the protection of her affluent mother and with her brother MIA; it was the perfect time to strike for the jugular and Smythe had butchered everything. If Smythe had just done as commanded and killed both aunt and nephew, it would have sent Laurel Lance into a spiral that she wouldn't be able to escape from. "I will have the situation dealt with by someone else."

"But…I can handle her, and Watson…"

"Did I stutter?" He growled. "You will do nothing. I have obviously put too many responsibilities on your dainty shoulders. Someone else is handling it," he looked up to see Smythe stammer and her mouth agape, before walking out silently.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Diggle looked up from the scope of his sniper rifle to see from the bluff just outside Nanda Parbat. He looked over the plateau below to see Roy, and Palmer were forced to the ground. Both men were forced to their knees, their hood and helmet, removed from their heads.

Diggle looked to his right to see Felicity lying prone next to him with a pair of binoculars, and clutching the hand-held radio in her hand. "I don't have eye's on Oliver."

Diggle adjusted his scope and looked down the barrel to watch as Ra's stood out in the open as if he were daring John to take the shot. "Ra's is there." The master assassin looked much more haggard than he did earlier this year.

Felicity held her binoculars to her eyes, "What do we do? If we kill him…Ray and Roy will be slaughtered."

_"There are but two of you. Soldiers. Where is your commander?" _Ra's voice crackled through the radio.

Diggle watched with bated breath as he watched Ray look around the horizon, before looking at Roy and shrugging. A second later Roy answered. "She's a co-leader actually, and she's back home, protecting our city."

Felicity put her hand to her mouth, "Why is he lying to Ra's? Laurel isn't with us."

Diggle didn't answer, but he kept his eyes on Ra's and his teammates. Right now, as bad as things were getting in Starling, along with his bubbling guilt over not having Laurel's back, was not what should be at the forefront of his mind right now. Thea was handling the situation while the rest of them were to bring Oliver back.

The plan was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission before they were to move onto the next step, the capture of Oliver, and return back home to help him recover. Once Oliver was able to snap out of it, they as a team could help Laurel. They would ensure that she and their son were safe.

_"Al Sah-Him told me all about all the soldiers in your __little __militia. My agents in your city tell me that your so-called co-commander has lost __her way, __once again to the plight that infects your city. No. Miss Lance is not your commander in this operation, boy."_

"Frak!" Felicity swore next to him. "What do we do?"

Before Diggle could make the call, he heard someone speak in a familiar growl, followed by cold steel resting against his neck. "Finger off the trigger and toss all weapons off the cliff. And you shall live at The Demon's Head's pleasure."

Diggle gave Felicity the non-verbal direction to toss their equipment off the bluff before they raised their hands. "Oliver. Oliver man, whatever they have done to you, you are stronger than this! Think about Connor and Laurel! Do you even recognize their names? Laurel and Connor almost died the other night!"

Al Sah-Him's eyes widened for a brief second, and his grip on his blade loosened, as did his posture. It looked like for a second, Oliver had returned to them. It wasn't until Felicity made a move towards him, as she did, he returned to his cold demeanor, forcing her to flinch backwards.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Thea watched the DA leave after accepting the deal. Watson would testify against Brickwell and be granted a private hearing, and she would only serve five years in jail for her crimes. A great deal for their client.

Samanda walked over to use the payphone in the office, as Thea jumped giddily. "I missed this, tell me you missed this?"

Laurel's lip quirked. "It did feel good to argue." It made her remember just how much she loved the law. Giving people the justice they deserved. Helping people. It was something that her father had given her that no one could rip it away from her.

"This is what we are supposed to be doing. " Thea added with a small triumphant smirk. "Helping people the legal way."

"What about Queen Industries?"

"Ollie can have it when he comes back, and he will," Thea added seriously. "I offered Walter the position of CFO, and right now he is working as acting CEO. With him as our 2IC over there we won't have someone like Rochev doing some slimy maneuvers to get what she wants and force us out."

"You made a large donation to the DA's office to get her down, here didn't you?" Laurel asked with a knowing look, and her lips widening into a small smirk.

Thea preened, "If Brick can use his money for ill, I can use mine to help. Besides, it doesn't hurt if the word comes out that the re-branded _Queen_ name has donated money to our city's institutions with no real strings attached."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Brick was fuming, his son was annoyed that he wouldn't be able to spend his upcoming birthday with his friends that he made in Kansas. And now he was alerted that Agent Watson looked like she was prepared to divulge everything to the courts.

"How did you fail to kill the woman?"

"Black Canary. She stopped the hit that was to take place in Watson's apartment." Beckett swallowed hard. "I have tied up all the loose ends surrounding the incident sans Watson and Black Canary herself. I take full responsibility, would you like my resignation?"

Of course, Dinah Laurel Lance had been at the center of another one of his failures. His mind recalled how she was an idealistic girl who was fighting him to protect her city. She was tenacious back then as well. She developed her new scream and harnessed it rather quickly. Lance took down the man he now knows to be Malcolm Merlyn, before taking down Brick himself a little later.

The woman was an enigma, she went to a fro on how to deal with him, she would go in for a hard-physical blow, then retreated, then tried for a legal maneuver before he forced her backwards. The game of cat and mouse was losing its novelty rather fast. Each time she struck, she was getting closer and closer to his jugular. Her hands were slowly wrapping around his throat.

He wondered if he should have just killed her that night, he had her dead to rights, after she was almost killed by Merlyn. Or if he had killed her that night after she almost killed Merlyn for the first time in the warehouse district. Unlike back then, she was now no longer holding back her punches. He poked the bear, after targeting Miss Queen and Laurel's only child, Connor. And now Dinah Laurel Lance was after him with a vengeance. She was on the warpath.

"Sir?"

Brickwell blinked, "I would appreciate it if you finished your job. You kept my Sammy safe; I trust you not to butcher it up again. And ensure that you use all available resources. I do not want to be indicted."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel walked out of Wildcat's gym with Watson. "Thea will be ironing out any potential kinks and will be waiting for us in court. Let's go."

Watson followed Laurel past a police cruiser and into a utility van. Laurel leaned towards the front window to see a young woman with short black hair, "You know that this won't be safe?"

"I know that you CNRI girls are planning on taking down the Brit again. That's all I need to know." Laurel couldn't help but smile at that comment. It showed her that The Glades, the city, was worth saving. That there were still good people that lived here that still cared. They cared enough to risk their lives to end Brick's rule.

Laurel then jumped into the back of the van with Watson and felt the van pull out of its parking spot and head out onto the road.

"I need to ask you about something."

Laurel turned her head as she leaned against the steel wall of the van, "You want to know about the Black Canary?"

"Yeah, I stepped off the yellow brick road, and I made a mess out of my life, you jump back and forth with it often."

Laurel sighed, "Trust me it makes a mess out of my life." Lately, she had been wondering if being a vigilante was even worth it. She just wanted to be a lawyer and have her family with Ollie. If she hadn't been Black Canary would her life be simpler? Would Ollie have stopped being The Hood after The Undertaking?

"Does it?" Watson asked, sounding almost amused by the notion. "You have a husband, a child, a sister that knows your secret. Friends that would be willing to go into the gates of hell just to ensure that you were safe."

"And the same life almost got them killed." It did kill Ted, Tommy and Joanna."And not for the first time. I have lost people important to me that have been connected to me, and the life that I lived. I am starting to think that you can't have it both ways." That she was naive to believe that she could.

"You can and you do have it all. I jumped off the line and now I doubt that I have any friends or family that would like to see my face, let alone talk to me. But you, you have friends and family that keep coming back no matter how much you push them away."

"That's Thea and the others for you. Stubbornly loyal. She has kept me from a line that I can't come back from. She would drag me back kicking and screaming if she had to."

All of a sudden, the vehicle came to a halt as gunfire rained towards the van, creating small bullet holes. Both women could only lay on the ground and pray they didn't die in the rain of lead. Laurel crawled towards the small window to see the driver slumped over the steering wheel.

"She's dead."

When the van door opened, Laurel grabbed the man's gun from his hand and used the butt of the gun to knock him out.

She then used her cry, sending the men backwards as she and Watson fled down the now congested and abandoned highway, before managing to escape the area by hotwiring an old car and the pair high-tailed it to the courthouse.

Laurel and the Federal Agent jumped out and ran into the building to see Thea speaking with the DA. "We're here."

Thea spun on her heels, "We heard about the attack." Her eyes showed an unsaid apology that she wasn't there to help her sister in all but name. She then looked at Watson, "You still good to testify?"

"Damn right," Watson said as she walked into the courtroom with the DA.

After Watson had finished her part in the courtroom, Laurel scowled and felt Thea grip her arm. "Laurel?"

"I can hear them, Speedy. Brick has gotten to the jurors." Laurel said angrily. The bastard had just cut her off at the pass once again. She was getting really sick and tired of him ruining her plans to keep her family safe.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Brick scowled as he watched the television screen. He right now was safe from being indicted, but the words that DA Pierce said following it made his jaw clench.

_"The Grand Jury has elected not to indict Daniel Brickwell. But I promise that the DA's office under my leadership will continue to pursue every lead and scour every slither of evidence that will lead us to the truth."_

He may have won the battle in the courts, but apparently Miss Lance had acquired another possible ally. And one that would take time to remove. Laurel Lance was learning to play the game. First, she had acquired help from the Captain of the SCPD, and now the District Attorney. He would have to up his game if she continued to be so aggressive and spontaneous. One thing was for certain, he did not enjoy being put on the back foot.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Samanda walked into her apartment complex and stood in the center of her living room. It was a long while before the door opened to see Smythe pointing her gun at her. "It's over Sam."

"It's not too late, Shivvy. I can organize something with the DA. We can be two Federal Agents taking down the bad guys like how it used to be."

"I'm more than a Fed. I have a purpose." Smythe said with a proud, almost cocky smirk.

Watson squared her shoulders, "Then you have to kill me, because I am never going to stop."

"Brick wants you back into the fold. You who the Black Canary is. You will swear in court that you killed one of our own in court. And you will reveal and testify who the Black Canary is and that she killed Theodore Grant in cold blood."

Watson shook her head. "This is where I stand, Shivvy. I'm doing the right thing here." She would not condemn a woman who was saving this city. The woman who gave her a second chance.

Smythe watched as Watson pulled out her sidearm, but Smythe was too fast and shot her former colleague in the head.

She smiled proudly above the dead body of Agent Watson. Perhaps now, Brickwell would now see that she was still valuable and that she was worth his investment and time. She was grateful that Brickwell had listened to his son, the boy had only wanted to ingratiate himself with his father, but she took on the opportunity to prove her worth. Brick's naive son in trying to imitate and help his father, without knowing the consequences gave her this chance.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Felicity watched as Diggle, Roy, and Ray were kicked to the sandy ground, in a line before the small raised platform that looked as if the sandstone had been carved to make it, along with the steep stairs.

She gulped as she watched Oliver drag out a bloody, bruised Malcolm Merlyn. It looked as if he had received numerous types of torture, from lashings, the soles of his feet were blistered and raw and was missing his right hand. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and he was missing his thumb on his left hand, and several toes.

After Oliver silently climbed the stairs and took his _rightful_ place next to his master. She turned her head back to John. "John."

Her friend ignored her and spoke to Malcolm, as the League started to utter some sort of ritualistic prayer. "What happened to you, Merlyn?"

The tortured man's swollen eyes barely opened, "They killed my faction… Tortured me after the lashings, Ra's had me shackled above a fire to show me how I should have died before I changed my fate… Had three arrows shot into me… For killing one of their own… Sara…"

"You should have died the night that you and Laurel first fought."Diggle said, "Did you tell them about Thea?"

"They tortured me for so long…No food, water… The only thing I could get them to stop for a while was to tell them everything since I left Nanda Parbat the first time." He swallowed hard. "Doesn't matter anyway. Oliver's final trials will be coming up soon. He will have to slay his loved ones and his city, that is if Brickwell didn't kill them already. You only helped him... You know? Making Laurel isolate herself..."

Felicity blinked, and her mouth became agape, "Thea's alone protecting the city, and stopping Laurel from losing it, and Brickwell from hurting the city."

Malcolm let out a tired snort. "Thea would never fight her sister… They are family. In a way that I was never a part of for Thea or Tommy... Robert, Walter, and Quentin were all more paternal role models for her. I see that now. I killed my son, and brought my daughter to the gallows…"

"Laurel will protect her," Roy assured them. "Her whole reason for going off alone was because some of us didn't see the threat that Brick posed. Before we left, you saw what happened at Verdant, and later at the Queen Manor when we got out of the ARGUS briefing for this mission. At least we had someone having their eye on the ball while we dealt with this one."

"Laurel's emotions are both her greatest strength and weakness," Malcolm muttered before he was dragged up and towards the raised platform without care.

"Woah…Woah, where are they taking Merlyn?" Ray blurted out as they watched helplessly as Malcolm was dropped unceremoniously at the feet of The Demon's head. His skin was so pale that they could just make out some of the veins on his forehead, his face looking gaunt.

Ra's withdrew his blade from its scabbard, "Al Saher, you have committed crimes against the codes of The League. Considering your history after stealing the Pit's water, and operating and commanding a rogue splinter faction that has now been officially disavowed, and eradicated completely, you too shall follow them into the annals of history, without your head, you shall never walk amongst the living."

As Ra's raised his blade, Felicity squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her face into John's side as she heard a small thud of what she could only imagine was Malcolm's head falling to the ground.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Thea could only watch as Laurel stormed out of Wildcat's gym. The legal avenue hadn't worked. Thea could only hope that Laurel wasn't going to do something stupid. She sighed as she grabbed her jacket from the hook and followed her sister out. Thea rushed out to find Laurel standing ready to climb down a manhole and down into the abandoned tunnel network. "I have an idea, follow me."

When they arrived at The Bunker, Thea walked past Laurel and handed her a steel briefcase. "Ollie and I had this made for when we completed our first mission back together. When you were ready. It was supposed to be a welcome back gift before Ollie… then we heard about Brick. And everything fell apart."

"Speedy…" Laurel stammered. How did she manage to hold on to Thea even when she was pushing her away? The younger woman had every reason to hate her, and yet she came back.

"Nope, don't _Speedy _me," Thea said with a stern voice." Brick started with us, and it will end with the three of us." Thea said resolutely, giving Laurel a stare that dared her to state otherwise. Laurel tentatively nodded before she opened the case to see a new suit laid out for her. The suit was mainly black, with a few yellow-gold highlights. Laurel gently touched the material, as Thea spoke. " I had Iris take it back to have the highlights. We had to distinguish you from Smythe, and keep you protected."

Thea then explained how the fish netting around the suit was a durable mesh that Cisco had been working on since he constructed the earlier suit. And how this suit had a denser material around the forearms to keep her more protected.

"Do you like it?"

Laurel looked up with a genuinely appreciative smile. "It's perfect, Speedy, thank you."

Thea then pulled something small from her pocket and handed it to Laurel. Her engagement ring, and wedding ring. Laurel's eyes stung as she became misty-eyed. "We are a family, Laurel. I don't ever want to see those rings off your finger or off your necklace."

Laurel gave a small smile, at that moment, Thea sounded a lot like her mother then she realized at that moment. "Thank you for everything, Speedy."

"It's time for The Birds of Prey to bring Daniel Brickwell, Silver Banshee and his cabal to their knees."

* * *

**A/N - The next chapter is one that many have been waiting for, and the name says it all on the tin. '_The Fall of Daniel Brickwell'._**


	23. The Fall of Daniel Brickwell

Diggle wrapped his arm around Felicity as she sobbed from watching the execution of Malcolm Merlyn firsthand. There was no doubt in his mind that none of them would mourn the man that had been infecting their city. He had been involved in The Turf Wars, aiding and facilitating Brickwell's initial rise to power. He orchestrated and was partially successful in The Undertaking, he forced Thea to kill Sara, forcing The League to come into conflict with him and his team.

No, he knew it was the shock of being forced to witness the barbaric act of so-called justice. He looked behind to see Ray gently rubbing small circles into Felicity's back, his eyes too were misty, and his skill was pale.

John could smell the pungent aroma of when one of his friends had emptied the contents of their stomachs on the floor beside them. He swallowed his own rising bile as he looked back up to see that Malcolm's remains had been removed, and watched in horror as Ra's handed Oliver, his saber, before nodding at the man with an orange mask, giving him a silent command.

Sarab bowed respectfully before hoisting Diggle to his feet. Diggle walked with the man without a word. His heart thumped as he kept walking. Every step he took towards the dais made his stomach twist and contort. He could barely hear Felicity, Roy, and Ray calling after him with heartfelt pleas.

All he could think about was Lyla and baby Sara. Was this how Laurel felt when she left the base after he and Felicity had severed ties with her?

"Kneel, Master Sergeant." The master assassin commanded.

Diggle glared at the man over his shoulder, and knelt, not before looking at the man that was once his brother. The man remained stoic, as if this was completely normal, that Oliver Queen had been completely torn from his body, leaving a shell for Al Sah-Him to inhabit.

Al Sah-Him rested the sword on John's shoulder, causing the veteran to shudder despite his best efforts. "Any last words, Sergeant Diggle?"

Did he have any last words?

He looked down to where the blood had congealed and started to be absorbed into the sandstone. It forced him to remember the people that he had watched die during his time at war. Friends, brothers, and sisters at arms, innocents, and the enemy. It had the same coppery smell that invaded his nostrils.

He looked up to Oliver, "Do what you have to do man, but if there is a sliver of the real you in there, I forgive you, man. And I'm sorry."

Sorry for not being able to save him from Ra's iron grasp. Sorry for betraying his memory, and neglecting and disavowing his wife. And allowing Laurel to put herself in harm's way to protect what was left of her family, without picking up his rifle and walking into the gates of hell with her. If there was one regret he had in his life, it was not having Laurel's back.

He was about to follow in the footsteps of Laurel and Oliver. His life was about to end and he was going to leave Sara without her Daddy. He bit his lip as he arched his back over the warm moist sticky block.

Diggle felt the cold steel lift from his shoulder. Diggle took one final look at his friends before closing his eyes. He had heard stories about people's dead eyes haunting onlookers, he never wanted that to happen to his friends and family.

After a few long seconds of waiting, he heard Ra's cool voice break the silence. "Halt." Diggle's body relaxed, and he exhaled a breath that he didn't know he was holding onto. "You have proved to me, son, that you are worthy of being my heir. That Oliver Queen has indeed been destroyed and you are ready to remove his remaining bastions. You will execute the last members of the Lance-Queen brood."

Diggle opened his eyes, feeling blinded by the light, and the fly buzzing around his face, he saw Roy, Felicity and Ray become ashen. Oliver's next mission was to kill his family before wiping out the city. The family that he and Felicity had abandoned.

What had he done? Malcolm was right, he unwittingly helped Ra's wipe what was left of Oliver.

:-:-:-:-:

Laurel stood up on one of the rooftops of the city. She looked around, feeling the cool breeze move through her hair. She looked over her shoulder at the man that she had captured a few blocks away.

It was a strange yet comfortable feeling being back in a protective suit. It felt like a second skin. And more importantly, she was not alone in the field, she had her sister beside her.

Josiah Beckett was now in her hands. Daniel Brickwell's fixer. The man that knew her enemy's dirty laundry. After Thea gave Laurel her new suit, the pair discussed everything they knew about Brickwell and his cabal, which led them to Mr. Josiah Beckett.

On the other side of Beckett was Thea in her Speedy suit that looked like it had minor upgrades that made it look like her vital organs and chest were more protected, the black from her legs traveled up her body covering where her upper chest would be vulnerable

Black Canary nodded at her partner, who snatched the hessian bag off the man. Black Canary moved slowly towards him until she was standing over him, while Speedy stood in hiding in his blind spot.

Laurel lamented how good it felt to work as a team, and not solo. It felt safe. Normal.

"What is Brick planning?"

"You think you scare me more than Brick does?" He asked almost hysterically, "Your intimidation tactics mean very little in comparison to what Brickwell will do—" He was interrupted by a hard jab to his face.

Speedy chuckled. "She's pretty mad, you and your boss have been making our life a living hell, hers in particular. I think it's time we return the favor."

Beckett flinched as he felt the cold steel of Speedy's arrowhead against the back of his neck. "He is holding a lavish party for his son. To show the world that he is a loving father. Such acts of kindness will show the people of this city that he is a man to respect. He will be loved for showing his humanity."

Laurel crossed her arms as she glared at the man. "I need to know where everyone is so that I can stop him."

"Why would you want to know that?"

"I'm going to kill him." Black Canary said resolutely, as she grabbed the man by his collar and hoisted him up to his feet.

Beckett looked over his shoulder, his eyes wide in pleading as he looked at Speedy. "Please, Miss Queen…I helped Malcolm Merlyn set your mother free from her incarnation and escape the death penalty. "

Speedy shrugged, nonchalantly, "And the same man that you worked for had me murder a friend of mine while drugged and put under his influence. You better answer Canary's question. My loyalty is to my family and not my mother's sperm donor. So, are you going to answer my sister?"

Despite her words, Laurel could tell that Thea was conflicted about letting her kill Brick, she looked as if she was backing her play in front of this man. An act of solidarity.

"He controls the FBI that are guarding him."

"That sounds like a no, huh, Speedy." Black Canary asked as she looked up towards her sister.

Speedy pulled out her bow and shot an arrow that had rope at the end that was bound around Beckett's ankles, while Black Canary hoisted the man over the small wall of the rooftop, and tossed him over the side of the building.

The man howled in pain as his ankles were likely dislocated from the inertia. Both vigilantes watched from the rooftop as the man howled until he cried out to them that he could offer them something better.

"What is it?" Speedy asked as she leaned against the wall, watching as Laurel sat with her legs dangling off the edge of the building.

"Brick's boy ordered the hit on Agent Watson. He was trying to imitate his father, Smythe took his words as a command. Brickwell had ordered many hits during the tenure of his house arrest and that he is going to eliminate Siobhan Smythe, the woman you call The Banshee. I have Agent Watson's phone. Her final confession!"

Laurel stood up from her perch. After the hellish year she endured, she would be tempted to wait until either Brick killed Smythe, or the other way around, and take out the other afterwards. If it didn't mean the potential loss of innocent lives. "Where?"

"I have it on me!" He cried, his voice echoing off into the distance.

After the two vigilantes received the phone, Thea tossed the man back off of the building, hearing him howl in pain once again, while Laurel pressed play on the video.

_"My name is Special Agent Samanda Watson. FBI. I swear under United States Federal Law that everything I reveal is the truth and nothing but the truth, so help me god. This message should be considered my dying declaration. I am guilty of criminal acts, and I was not the sole perpetrator…__Daniel Brickwell is the mastermind. He coerced and blackmailed multiple FBI agents including myself into aiding and abetting his criminal __organization__…"_

Watson then mentioned numerous names of her fellow dirty agents, including Agent Siobhan Smythe and Supervisory Special Agent Talos, among others. She then revealed that Agent Smythe was the woman who impersonated Black Canary in the massacre at Verdant. Watson also mentioned other members of Brickwell's cabal that were not part of the FBI.

_I escorted Special Agent Siobhan Smythe to the Queen Manor, she was dressed in the fake Black Canary suit. By this point, I was fully aware that Smythe was the killer that framed Black Canary in the night club, Verdant. I am guilty of aiding and abetting the murder of Theodore Grant…"_

After watching the complete video, Thea turned to Laurel. "We have the smoking gun. A dying declaration... "

Laurel closed her eyes and forced away her rogue tears forming in her eyes, at the mention of Ted. She still couldn't believe that she would never see or hear him again. "It is exempt by hearsay." It was the smoking gun they needed and yet Brick had a habit of eluding or manipulating the system. "If the law worked properly, Speedy, he wouldn't have left his prison cell. I have been running around in circles trying to do the right thing. And every time I did, I got burned. I'm not getting burned again."

"We have to try, Laurel. Remember, it's not about how many times you fall to the mat, it's about whether you get back up. Are you gonna get back up, Laurel?"

:-:-:-:-:

Roy was linked between Ray and Felicity in the chain gang. His wrists chaffed as they were marched into the lion's den. Behind him, he could hear Felicity sobbing after she was shoved forwards after stumbling down the stairs and down into the dungeons.

Perhaps it would have been wiser to leave back at home? She could have helped Thea save Laurel and bring the city back into line. Stop Daniel Brickwell. She wouldn't have to view the execution of the man that had brought nothing but death towards The Glades. To Starling. In hindsight, he wasn't particularly sure why she came; Felicity didn't exactly offer any assistance in the field. She wasn't a fighter. Her expertise was behind a computer monitor. Roy assumed it was her sowing solidarity, despite her and Diggle kicking Laurel to the curb.

He heard her sob louder as they were halted by one of the cloaked assassins, before they were to enter their cell. The assassin pointed up at the head that was impaled on a spike, next to many older, more shriveled heads. His stomach churned. Malcolm's head was covered in a thick tar, to preserve his head, it was almost unrecognizable beyond the familiar shape of his face and head, his mouth slightly opened ajar.

Roy hoped that Thea would be okay about hearing about her father's execution, despite her hatred of the man. And he hopes that if Oliver ever came back from where he was, he could live with the inevitable guilt that he would shoulder, whether it would be justified or not.

:-:-:-:-:

Josiah Beckett laid in the hospital bed cuffed to the railing. He suffered a broken nose, a fractured eye socket, and two dislocated ankles. All because The Birds of Prey had taken him by surprise, and had interrogated him with some harsh methods that he never thought that they would possess.

The window opened slightly and Smythe, dressed as Black Canary, climbed through. Her ominous voice said. "You failed him again."

Beckett smirked. "If you wish to kill me, allow me one final moment to tell you something, and if you think it is actionable, you will allow me to continue breathing."

The woman in black nodded slightly, "I'm listening."

Beckett smirked, Brick didn't protect him from his nemesis, so he would aim the loose cannon he created at Brickwell himself. "Brick has been worried about your mental capacities, that is why he sent me to clean up your mess. You think you are his right hand; but you are a simple-minded tool that he will toss aside. You are nothing to him beyond being a pawn."

Smythe didn't say anything, she just pulled out a knife and slit the man's throat. Smythe clenched her jaw as she climbed back out the window. She was done serving Brickwell. He thought that he could just use her as a human weapon to take aim at; he was wrong. She would show him what the consequences were for turning his back on her.

It would be the last mistake he ever made!

:-:-:-:-:

Black Canary and Speedy stood on a rooftop opposite the Hochman building. There were a legion of SCPD officers outside the perimeter of the hotel and likely FBI agents within.

Speedy looked over at her sister, "What's the plan?"

Laurel bit her lip. "You go loud in the event room where the party is, make enough noise to get Brick to flee to his rooms. I can ambush him there. Just…"

Thea gave Laurel a knowing smile, "Keep the little ones safe, on it, Sis." She said as she started to watch as Laurel inched towards the fire escape. "Be safe."

Laurel looked back over her shoulder, "You too, Speedy." Before she climbed down the steps and disappeared into the darkness.

Speedy turned towards the hotel with a relieved smile as she and Laurel were back to fighting alongside each other. She pulled out a grapple arrow and shot it towards the building before anchoring the line and zip-lining across the road watching the SCPD and the onlookers below.

:-:-:-:-:

Daniel Brickwell was standing proudly watching on as dignitaries, philanthropists and others watched on in the hotel's finest function hall, as the children including his handsome son were standing around a piñata, with his son taking a giant arcing swing of the piñata stick, while others further down the hall were playing other games.

He felt a hand on his arm as Agent Talos whispered into his ear, "Sir, we have agents down."

Brick took a step closer to his son. If they were under attack, they needed to head back to his quarters. It was safer there. They would fend off the attacker in the presidential suite while he and Samuel could escape through the lower room, where his computer stations were.

Before he could manage another step, a high-pitched noise rang out of the speaker instead of the music. He spun his head in the direction of the stage. He gritted his teeth at the sight, Smythe was dressed in Black Canary's suit.

He should have had her killed after she was no longer useful. Now she was just another thorn in his side.

He rushed over to his son and wrapped his arm protectively around his boy before he heard Smythe's voice. "I would just like to make a toast for the man of the hour, and his father." Around them, all around them, glass could be heard shattering of glass, as well as the murmurings of the Black Canary going rogue. It was never supposed to be like this. He had everything planned!

He wanted his son to be far away from his criminal enterprises, especially after the other night where he unknowingly or not implied that Samanda Watson should be assassinated. His son was supposed to profit from the organization, not be involved in it.

He was now going to ring the necks of Smythe and whoever sent her here, be it Laurel Lance, Thea Queen, or a turncoat in his ranks.

"I wish you the absolute best, Samuel." Smythe said before raising her gun and took aim at his son.

Before he could jump into the path of the bullet, before the gun was fired, a red arrow knocked the gun out of Smythe's hands, pinning the firearm to the wall.

He grabbed his son's hand and fled towards his suite with a small group of his FBI agents. He could hear the incoherent screams and cries of parents and children alike. Over his shoulder, he watched as Speedy, Black Canary's partner, shoot a smoke arrow to allow the civilians, children, and himself flee. Brick quickly took in the scene, witnessing FBI agents and others clutching their tearing eyes as he assumed that Canary's sister-in-arms must have either mixed the smoke grenades with tear gas or used two separate arrows.

He supposed that with the Queen's money they could afford many new weapons and suits. A far cry from where Ms. Lance had come from, with just a ski mask and black leather jacket.

Speedy dived behind the speakers to take cover from the spray of bullets from the dirty FBI Agents. She hissed as she noticed that her arm had been grazed by a bullet. Ignoring the pain, every so often she poked out to take several shots before she saw Smythe ready to use her cry on the FBI agents who were attacking her in an attempt to protect Brickwell.

Smythe got close to one of the agents; she held her mouth towards his ear, Thea shot an arrow at Smythe, sending a bola arrow that pinned the woman to the wall, before Speedy looked over at the remaining few agents.

"Go! Leave! Head outside! Go to Captain Pike, he will protect you after you confess to being dirty. The real Black Canary and I have the video evidence, it will only get worse for you if you don't confess. Don't make us all hunt you down!" After saying her piece, she ran in the direction that Brick had fled towards, only to be hit by The Banshee's Wail, and being thrown into the wall.

:-:-:-:-:

Black Canary walked slowly through the narrow corridors of the hotel, walking past wounded FBI agents who had taken bribes and the like in service to Brick. She ignored their pleas for help, and at one point used her boot to sweep their hands away from grasping her leg in an attempt to plead for help. Laurel then heard someone over one of the agent's radios say Smythe was headed towards the function room.

Black Canary bolted up the flight of emergency stairs before she ended up in the hotel room that was directly beneath Brick's suite. She took a deep breath, and used her cry sending the door backwards, and immediately jumped in, twisting a gun out of an agent's hand and flipping him over her shoulder and onto of the heavy door that was covering another agent.

She turned to see a startled Curtis Holt, "I never thought you would come back, after saving Thea Queen and her nephew. You are a real hero!" He then hesitated."Are you coming to free me now?"

Laurel panted, looking around the dimly lit room. "Lockdown the elevators. The police are coming, and I need enough time to do what I need to do." As she turned her back, and started heading towards Brick's secret stairs that lead to his rooms, she could hear rapid typing.

Black Canary rounded the corner of his closet to see Brick with a hand around his son's shoulder guiding him towards her direction. He stopped frozen for a brief second, a look of fear and dread could be seen in his demeanor. It was how she had felt when she first heard his name after him being released. How she felt when she heard that her own son and Thea, were about to be killed by this man's puppet.

This man was the cause of so many problems in her life recently, and now it was going to end one way or another.

"It's over Brick." She said quietly, as she unclipped her baton from her waist.

Brick clutched his son to his chest, before giving his head a soft kiss, "Go, run!" He sent the boy in the opposite direction.

Laurel charged towards Brickwell and managed to send him backwards, and over his king-sized bed, the large man was sent rolling over the bed, leaving a large dent in the wall. He stood up, charging at her, picking her up by her jacket, and throwing her through the wall.

She was quickly grabbed by The Englishman and thumped into the ground numerous times before she managed to wrap her legs around his neck, and force him over her.

Black Canary rolled backwards, and on to her feet, unleashing a cry that sent him over the glass railing and down to the floor below with a loud thud.

_SCREEEEE_

The doors opened, and Laurel watched in horror as Smythe walked in with Laurel's old suit, coattails billowing behind her. Did that mean that Thea… She swallowed down the fear, letting the familiar anger take hold. All she could hear was her heart thumping at a rapid pace.

She was going to kill both of them.

Laurel jumped down from the balcony, ignoring Brick, as she dived towards Brick's son, who was in Smythe's cross-hairs. Only for the window to be shattered, and a red arrow knocked Smythe back long enough for Speedy to land and send a dropkick at the woman.

Laurel felt her shoulders sag in relief at seeing her somewhat bruised sister. She was still alive and still fighting.

Laurel shoved the boy beneath the large dining room table as Speedy managed to roll out of the way of Smythe's Banshee Wail, which sent broken glass down to the street below. Without warning, Brick was on his feet gracefully, and with such speed that she hadn't expected him to use, picked up Smythe from behind and launched her towards the stairs, and picked her up again and tossed her like a rag-doll through to the kitchen.

Speedy shot an arrow into Brick's shoulder as Black Canary moved in, sending several strikes with her baton. The large man took a massive swing, hitting Black Canary in the abdomen before he turned, picking up Speedy and slamming her onto the dinner table before rushing over to his son and wrapping his midnight black blazer around his small shoulders in a comforting manner.

"Go, Sammy! I will meet you downstairs, and then after this has been solved, we can be a family again."

He turned to watch Speedy thrown through the remnants of the outside window by The Banshee. Speedy landed in the sea of shattered glass on the balcony.

Before he could move, he was hit by a high-pitched sonic wail that sent him backwards, and looked down to his stomach to see some silverware poking out of his shirt, ignoring the pain, he reefed out the knives, and breathed out the pain, as he watched Speedy slowly getting to her feet, and Black Canary was sending multiple hard strikes towards their common foe.

Smythe stumbled backwards from several hard jabs and landed on her back on the carpeted floor, to see Samuel standing over them, tears rolling down his eyes at the sight of the fight.

Smythe picked up a stray knife and threw the blade towards the boy, only for the knife at the last minute to be deflected by Speedy's flechette, Speedy then quickly threw another flechette, this time laced with an anesthetic at Smythe's throat.

Brick in a furry, shoved aside an expensive sofa, picking the stunned Smythe up and by holding her sideways over his chest, he ran towards the mantelpiece, slamming the woman against the granite surface and hearing multiple cracks of her spine breaking.

He dropped the woman that he had used, that had betrayed him, he noticed that she didn't move.

She couldn't. She couldn't feel anything.

Brick watched as Black Canary dived for him, sending a heavy punch to his jaw followed by another, not allowing him to take a swing. He did, however, manage to send a heavy headbutt to her face, sending her back, only to watch as Speedy helped her to her feet.

He watched the familial display of love and loyalty, before looking up to see his beautiful son watching him with teary eyes. He couldn't move. If he killed one of these women, the other would harm his son. They would kill him, knowing he would do the same if it were young Connor.

It was what family does, protects and avenges each other. He lost. The Black Canary won. He lost. He could still get the final laugh. The final victory. All he had to do was goad her into killing him. The guilt would be enough to torture Dinah Laurel Lance for the rest of her days.

He was sucker-punched by Black Canary before she sent a sidekick, forcing his knees to give out. Every punch she delivered to his bruised and swelling face sent the same message.

_This is for making me abandon my son!_

_For p__utting my family in harm's way!_

_For t__rying to kill my sister!_

_For t__rying to kill my son!_

_For killing my mentor!_

_For Killing my friend!_

Every punch he took, he looked over Black Canary's small shoulders and looked at his son, taking what very well could be his final moments, looking at his son. He looked so much like his mother.

"Please! Stop, he's my Daddy!" Brick's son screamed bravely at the two vigilantes.

Laurel halted, before wrapping her hands around his neck. He may be the boy's dad, but would Brick have given her mercy if Connor had been the one to beg for mercy?

No, was the answer. He would have relished in it. He would have enjoyed watching Connor pleading for her life. Nd would have basked in the sight of Connor watching her die at his hands helplessly.

"Canary…" Speedy said softly, with a hand on her shoulder.

Laurel rested her hands on the man that had made her life a living hell. As she growled at the air. She wasn't a murderer. She couldn't kill the man in cold blood. There were lines that you couldn't come back from. She was there to supplement justice, not become the judge, jury, and executioner. That wasn't her. It wasn't the daughter her father raised, the student that Ted mentored, the surrogate sister that Thea admired, or the woman that Oliver fell in love with.

She couldn't have Connor growing up knowing that she was a killer. She couldn't let him carry that burden.

_"Just… be careful, Dinah, that you don't become the monster you are fighting." _Ted's voice echoed in the back of her mind. She couldn't betray his trust in her not now. He gave his life to save Speedy and her son. She owed Ted everything.

She took a step back as she felt her sister rest a comforting hand on her back. She was doing the right thing. She couldn't let her emotions get the best of her. If she killed Brick now, Speedy would be forced to take her into the cops. That would break her.

Brick spat out several broken teeth, his nose was now lopsided and bleeding and one of his eyes was almost completely swollen shut. He rasped out, she could hear him whistle from his nose. "Kill me now, Or I will never stop hunting down you, Connor, and the others. I will be the scourge that will wipe out everyone you ever cared for!" He looked on the verge of passing out, "I will tell the world who you all really are!"

"Daddy?" A small voice said that sounded much younger than Samuel.

"Leave, Samuel! It's not safe!"

"You want me to kill you, to lose myself, to become you!" Laurel panted out as she took a step from Thea and towards Brick.

"I have already proved that no prison can keep me. I may not have the skills of Mr. Wilson, or Merlyn, or the other man, this Ra's... But I make up for it with my cunning, and that is not something that you can take away from me, not without snapping my neck." He widened his arms, "I gave you a chance years ago, here's another. Kill me! End this!"

"No!" Laurel said, standing to her full height, shoving her finger at his face. "I won't let you destroy the person I am! You will go back to prison, and live the remainder of your worthless life in a cage. Like the animal you are. You will sulk in there for the rest of your life knowing that you will never have Samuel! That Starling City rejected you and tossed you to the wayside. That I defeated you!" She bellowed at him.

She would convince Lyla to throw him in a cell on Lian Yu. He couldn't get influence in absolute isolation. He would never hurt another soul while he was there in solitary confinement. He couldn't corrupt anyone there.

Laurel panted. She would do anything to protect Connor, perhaps Brick would be willing to do the same for his son?

Laurel lowered her mask to hang from her neck so that she would see eye to eye with him, lowering her voice to a low growl, "And you will keep my secret and those of my loved ones. You will also never harm those that I love, nor anyone else." She lowered her voice to that just above a whisper, "If not, I know what your son did. I can and will prove that he ordered the murder of Agent Watson, against your orders. I will prove that you indoctrinated him, that he is and will always be a threat to society, and he, like his degenerate father, will spend his young life in a prison cell."

It wasn't too late for the boy to reform into a productive member of society. Especially if limited to no contact with his father.

She then pulled back her mask and stood back, Thea returning to her side. If there was one redeeming quality of Daniel Brickwell, it was that he loved his son completely and unconditionally. He, like her, would do anything to keep their child safe. Even if it meant that they had to endure the pain and torment.

Brick apologized to his son for failing to provide for him, before he looked over at the two female vigilantes, wincing as he moved his neck. "If I decide to agree to capitulate to your demands, do you swear that you will leave my son alone?"

The look he gave her was not a look of contempt, nor a man looking to weasel out of his oath on a technicality. No. Daniel Brickwell was now just a vulnerable man, a father trying to do his utmost to protect his son. A father who was willing to put aside his vendetta with his enemy to ensure his son was safe and healthy.

Speedy nodded, as did Laurel slowly. "As long as you keep your word." Laurel didn't like that Samuel would get away with murder, but he would likely be placed with a loving family and could grow up to be a completely different man to his father. An honorable and ethical man. Laurel held out her hand to shake to seal the deal.

The Englishman stared at her hand for a while, before glaring at her and shaking her hand, "Then it is a deal." He rasped.

Black Canary and Speedy walked out to the outside balcony as they clipped their zip liners to the cable that Speedy had released, Laurel and Thea watched as the SCPD and Captain Pike walked in with their guns.

Pike stared at The Birds of Prey, before looking down to the floor to see an unmoving woman in the Black Canary suit, then to the bloody and bruised Daniel Brickwell, who was being hugged by his son. "Daniel Brickwell, you are under arrest."

"Sir, we have her, The Black Canary." One of the officers removed the mask of the fake Black Canary, the woman with a sob, explained that she couldn't move.

Pike scoffed dismissively, looking at the unmoving form of Agent Smythe. "That isn't the real Black Canary." He pointed at the broken woman. "She is The Silver Banshee."

"How do you know, Sir?"

Franklin Pike pointed to Black Canary in her new suit, zip-lining away to an adjacent building, "Because she is, and she is working alongside, Speedy." He said with a proud smile. Lance's girls did a hell of a job of ridding the scum from the city. And he would keep their secret, along with their partners. They are heroes and sometimes heroes need someone in their corner even if they are unaware of it. "They are heroes."

:-:-:-:-:

Laurel and Thea sipped on a glass of change as they had a quiet celebration in The Bunker after they had finally taken down Daniel Brickwell for good. She had a lot to get through before things became normal again, getting Ollie back, saving the others, helping clean up the mansion, and Verdant, planning Ted's funeral. But tonight, she could take a breath. In the background, Laurel could just make out Pike's press statement absolving the Black Canary, along with the other vigilantes of Starling City.

It wasn't long before Lyla walked in with two children on either arm.

"Connie, baby!" Laurel cooed as she found herself racing towards her son, and picking him up, and started kissing him, and apologizing for being away for a long time. Her baby boy had already started to grow up. She watched as Thea handed Lyla a glass of bubbly.

"Mommy!"Connor said ecstatically before he started to babble unintelligibly, as Laurel nodded seriously before she heard Lyla's voice a few minutes later.

"I just wanted you to know that Daniel Brickwell is headed to Lian Yu, and those that he has bought in the FBI and other places are currently being arrested by the SCPD and the Marshalls. His son will be placed in foster care with someone connected to ARGUS, and will be seeing an ARGUS certified counselor to help him." She then wrung her hands together nervously. "Johnny and the others haven't been heard from in almost a week. Waller is hesitant to send in the troops. I know that you have just returned home, Laurel… And that John and Felicity may not be your favorite people right now..."

Thea patted both women on the arm reassuringly, "We may not be able to infiltrate Nanda Par Bat, but we know someone who can. The Flash."

Laurel handed over her son to Thea after kissing him, whispering that she would be back, and left to make the call, and after a few rings, she heard Barry's voice. _"Hello?"_

"Barry, I am going to need a favor. How quickly can you get to Nanda Parbat to rescue our team?"

_"Laurel! I'm glad that you are safe, and we just heard about Brick, congratulations. I can head off now?"_

"I appreciate it, and I will owe you one, Barry." She then hung up on their friend, and sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "Sorry, Ted. I'm going to have to push your funeral back a bit." She would have to leave her son under ARGUS protection. Laurel really hated that she had to leave her son once again, hopefully, when she returns this time, it will be with his father beside her.


	24. The Demon's Head

**A/N- This chapter brings the end of The League plotline, the next chapter will tie up the loose ends regarding the team, and The Lance-Queen Family. **

* * *

Oliver was standing on a rooftop in Starling City. The city that was always going to be his home, even when the city was falling apart. The city was apart of him, it was in his blood. He turned to see his mother standing beside him, her blue-green eyes flickering across the city until they rested on The Glades.

"I almost allowed Malcolm's plans to destroy The Glades to come to fruition, do you remember what stopped me?"

Oliver swallowed, his eyes looking over the skyline only to notice two small figures traversing on the rooftop in the distance towards The Glades._ Laurel and Speedy_. They were likely protecting the city and protecting Connor while the others were on their mission.

He wished that he could hold his family in his arms, hear Speedy's wit, the feel of Laurel's soft lips on his own, and see his baby boy looking at the world with child-like wonder and innocence.

"Laurel, Speedy, and I forced your hand." He finally spoke as he watched the two silhouettes disappear down to the streets below.

"No. You, your sister, and my daughter-in-law reminded me of what was important. What was the point in protecting my family from harm if others would suffer?"

Oliver hiccuped, his vision became blurry from the tears pooling in his eyes, he wished that his mother had never been killed by Slade. But his mother saved him and saved his little sister from being slain by Slade's drug-fueled vengeance. She remembered that she was more than a businesswoman, that she was a good person. A loving mother. A protective parent.

"What was the thing that I told you when we discussed…your nightly activities?" Her lips upturned in pride at the mention of his vigilantism.

"That you were proud of me." Proud of Laurel, Thea, and Roy. That she was terrified for them, but she said that she had never been more proud of him, then when she realized the truth.

Moira tearfully smiled as her head bobbed up and down. "Don't forget who you are, Sweetheart. Don't lose yourself in the machinations of others. And never doubt the love that you have for your family, and them for you. My grandson and daughter-in-law, your wife and son need you."

"I'm sorry for letting you die, Mom."

"I'm not." She gave him a motherly smile. "You get to live and raise your son with your beautiful wife, Laurel, along with any other children that you two may bring into this world. My beautiful daughter can live her life happily with Roy. I wasn't afraid of death. There's nothing a parent won't do to protect their children."

"Afraid?" He asked in almost a whisper.

Moira kissed his cheek. "Some people can't handle the face of death. Why do you think that you are in the position you are in? Ra's is afraid of growing old and dying. If you follow his orders, my son will die. Laurel's husband. Connor's father. Thea's brother, Oliver will die. And you will become him." She kissed his forehead. "Who are you?"

"Oliver Queen."

His mother smiled at him, a proud look across her face, "You have to show this evil man what that means. Show him the man you are. That you protect your family at any cost. Your wife and son need you."

:-:-:-:-:

Al Sah-Him jolted awake, quickly taking in his surroundings, he saw that he was in a cargo plane, judging by the interior. It was then that he noticed that his fellow assassins dressed in their midnight black armor.

"You were asleep, son." His master said not unkindly. Al Sah-Him looked beside him to see his master resting next to him on the bench, his hair now peppered with salt. His eyes were sunken into his gaunt face. The Consumption was eating away at the master assassin.

The Heir to The Demon nodded sleepily, "I was dreaming."

"The Mystic and Seer, Ibn Sirin once noted that there are three main types of dreams. Ones about truth, desire, and temptation." His master's keen eyes watched him carefully. "What did you dream of, answer truly, son."

"All of them." Al Sah-Him confessed. "Oliver Jonas Queen has continued to grow stronger. He misses his family and friends. It's like he has been pushing harder since we captured his friends." Perhaps his liege could help quell the desire bubbling war within him against the billionaire playboy?

Ra's eyes darkened. "He is weak. Oliver Queen was a habitual liar. A delinquent. He deserves no mercy from us. He will be slain soon enough, when you put your sword through his wife's chest, slain his sister, and dashed Oliver Queen's spawn's head against a wall. You will be able to wed my daughter and our shared blood will dominate and exterminate the undesirables of this world. The marriage will be held after you have razed Starling to the ground."

"And that is where the Alpha-Omega comes into play?"

"Yes. That is how we shall raze this city."

:-:-:-:-:

John blinked awake, as he took in his surroundings. The team had been imprisoned for several days at the very least, weeks at the most. As he looked around, he saw Felicity resting her head on Palmer's lap, while the man himself sat against the cold porous stone walls.

Roy was on the far side of the room, towards the portcullis gate, that held them in. The younger man had been silently watching the patrols of the assassins. The young man was determined to stay awake, and would only rest when Digg had taken over as sentry for a few hours. But for the most part, Roy was determined to remain on sentry duty.

"Seen anything of note, Roy?"

Roy shrugged his shoulders and rubbed his raw wrists. "There has been a decrease in soldiers patrolling." He then blinked a few times. "Not that it means much, they could be luring us into a false sense of security."

Diggle jerked his neck from side to side as he shimmied across to his teammate. "Thea knows where we are right? Perhaps she is en route as we speak." John was hoping that Thea was en route, and perhaps with some backup.

Roy shook his head slightly, his eyes not leaving the hallway. "She knows, but… I told her if things got too hot with Brick that she should flee. Take Connor and go into hiding, and never look back. It's what Laurel and Oliver would want."

Diggle slumped back on the cool steel bars of the portcullis. It became clear that Ra's and Oliver had no intention of killing them anytime soon. Perhaps they were to be executed on Oliver's ascent to the throne? Perhaps they will soon follow in Malcolm's footsteps.

"Let's hope that she can talk Laurel around. God only knows that we could really use a metahuman on our side, along with her skills." She may also be the only person to be able to snap Oliver out of his mental shackles. He was so close to breaking Oliver out of his shackles, only for his conditioning to kick back in at the last second, perhaps seeing Laurel's face would be the key to saving him. She always had a knack for pushing Oliver in the right direction, perhaps with the exception when she would let her emotions get the best of her.

John thought over the past few days with nothing to do but think had come to realize that he had been way too short with Laurel. That she was right. That Daniel Brickwell was perhaps just as much of a threat to the city and her family as The League is, albeit in a different way. Daniel Brickwell was more cunning, he didn't just go straight for the jugular like many of the other foes they faced. He was influencing the FBI and the media. He put Laurel into a corner before he struck her so that she had no backup.

He was targeting Laurel, just as much as the Black Canary. And after reflecting on it, John doubted that the holiday retreat that he and Felicity had tried to force her into was as viable as he thought it was. With the Feds under his belt, there was no telling how far his reach would extend. Malcolm was right, as strange as it was to acknowledge, he and Felicity had unknowingly tried to hold Laurel down in the crosshairs of her enemies.

She and her son would have been assassinated, and it would have been his fault. Even right now, Laurel could die, and it would be his fault. So far, it was a melting pot of; Laurel's resilience, tenacity, and her stubbornness, mixed with Thea, Roy, and Ted Grant's aid has kept Laurel, Thea, and Connor breathing.

When Oliver finally snapped out of his conditioning and finds out that Laurel and Connor had been potentially killed, there was no telling what Oliver would do to them, to Brick or to Laurel's evil doppelgänger. An arrow to the chest would be the best any of them could hope for. And knowing Oliver, that would be a mercy none of them would receive, not after betraying his family.

Roy's head perked up, "Did you hear that?"

Diggle strained his ears, but couldn't hear anything besides a clap of thunder. "No."

"You didn't hear the thunder? We are beneath a mountain; we shouldn't hear the weather outside."

Without giving the chance to ponder on that bit of information, Diggle jolted forwards at the sight of all the rush-candles, and torches being extinguished and promptly re-lit. It was only then that he saw Barry dressed in his suit on the other side of the portcullis.

"Hey, guys!" The Speedster then spun on his heels, looking up and down the dimly lit hallway of the dungeons, looking like a kid seeing Disney world for the first time. "Wow, this is like a real dungeon, shackles and all." He said with amazement as he kept looking around until he heard Felicity calling his name, as she woke up startled by the speedster.

"Thank you, Felicity. You just outed my secret identity to a stranger." He looked towards Ray, "No offense."

Palmer smiled at Barry, jovially, "No offense taken, I'm Ray Palmer, the ATOM. I'm actually new to the vigilante line of work." He then coughed, "Not that I am complaining, but how did you know we were here?"

Barry gave a wide grin. "Black Canary called. She said that you guys have been gone a while."

Felicity's jaw dropped, "L…Laurel? As in our Laurel? Blonde hair, stubborn and possesses an ear-piercing scream, that Laurel?" Felicity had not expected Laurel to be back, let alone get them the help they needed to escape this medieval dungeon.

Barry's head bobbed up and down. "Yeah, she and Thea defeated Daniel Brickwell and his accomplice, former FBI Agent Smythe, the woman who framed Laurel. The SCPD have been calling her: The Silver Banshee. She and Brick are in ARGUS custody." Within a blink of an eye, the gate was opened, allowing them to exit the cramped space of their cell.

The speedster followed the team down one of the hallways as Roy stopped and opened one of the gates to reveal a woman wearing an exotic looking outfit. "Nyssa." Roy greeted fondly.

"My father has likely taken Oliver to Starling. I shall remain here." She said coolly, as she picked up a torch from the wall nearby.

"What no, we need as many hands as we can get to take down Ra's," Felicity said as she stopped next to the three of them as Ray and Diggle continued towards the stairs on their way to the armory.

"I shall speak to the soldiers and seers, not all are enthused about having an outsider rule. Once I have their allegiance, I shall see what is in my power to assist you." Having said her piece, she marched in the opposite direction and headed down the dark, almost pitch-black corridor.

Barry kicked some of the dust on the floor, "I should be heading back too."

Felicity scowled at the speedster. "Wait… I just finished saying…"

Barry's lips thinned as he shrugged his shoulders helplessly, "I wish I could, but I need to get back home and deal with someone back home. Don't forget that it is not just the four of you fighting in your city, you have Laurel and Thea." He looked over his shoulder, before looking back at his friends, "Lyla has sent a small plane to land on the airstrip by the end of the day. It was the earliest she could get it to arrive"

Roy and Felicity watched as Barry zoomed off, leaving a trail of red and yellow behind him. Roy chuckled, and said under his breath, "Thea was right, maybe she received the wrong code-name."

:-:-:-:-:

Black Canary and Speedy were standing on the rooftop, a few feet away was Frank Pike. He looked at the black-clad vigilante, and her partner, with regretful eyes. "I just wanted to apologize once again for slandering you and your associates. But if you would help us, once more, even when we shunned you. I would appreciate it, I will even hand in my badge if that's one of your terms."

Black Canary shook her head, looking at her father's colleague, a man that she has known since she was a little girl. "No. Starling needs men that cannot be bought. You showed that your loyalty lies with the city and its people. Not to political power."

"Nor to money, or even us. You are your own man. A leader that Starling desperately needs." Speedy added. " A beacon of hope."

"You said the ninja's had taken the dam?" Black Canary asked as she looked in that general direction. She heard Pike tap his phone, and could see him in the corner of his eye looking at the map.

Pike gave a small jerk of his head as an acknowledgment. "I thought they were friends of yours, or at least yours, Speedy? You worked alongside them with Quentin Lance last year." He cleared his throat. "Thought that perhaps they were the cavalry that arrived late… Until they killed a couple of our officers.

Speedy's jaw clenched as she too looked off in that direction. "A momentary alignment of goals. Some of their leadership has been removed and replaced." It was certainly easier to tell him than to say that her brother was indoctrinated.

"The ninjas are demanding to speak to you, Ma'am," Pike said with a small gesture of his head towards Laurel. "You have had a rough time these past few months. We can figure something out if you aren't ready to parley with them. I could-"

"She may not have a choice, but she isn't alone." A man wearing a helmet and a dark-colored jacket said, standing beside Arsenal and ATOM. Spartan looked at Black Canary, "We heard directly from The Demon's Head's mouth that he plans on releasing a bio-weapon on the city. We need you to buy us some time, Canary."

Arsenal nodded but kept his face hidden from the Police Captain. "In the end, it's up to you, boss. How should we deal with this threat?"

Laurel exhaled, "We need people to help with evacuations and protecting the SCPD as well as helping them with handling the civilian population." Canary then looked at their newest member, "ATOM right?" The man in the exo-suit nodded. "Help Overwatch make a vaccine for the bio-weapon, and a potential cure if things go sideways. "

"And us? After you saved us from corruption and helped clean-house with the feds, we are at your disposal, Black Canary." The Police Captain asked, looking a bit uneasy and out of place at being the only non-vigilante in the group.

"Help the population, and maintain the three-block perimeter around the dam, and neighboring areas, and help evacuate the area."

"Quentin Lance would be proud of you." Pike added as the team of Starling's vigilantes watched as Pike left the rooftop to start preparing for the conflict between Starling's resident and The League of Assassins.

Diggle turned to look at Laurel's new suit. "Nice Threads." When he saw Laurel's small smile, he moved closer and lowered his voice. "I'm sorry for not being there for you to help protect your family. I was too preoccupied with what Ra's was doing with Oliver that I didn't see the threat from Brickwell. I'm truly sorry, Laurel, for everything."

"John. Let's just move on and save the city from Ra's, and get Ollie home." She said tersely. What was done was done. And now wasn't the time to bring up grievances, or air their dirty laundry, Ollie and their city needed them.

"I don't know if you can, Laurel. His conditioning is quite strong. Oliver was ordered to kill his family. You, Thea, and Connor. If it comes to it, you may have to—"

"No!" Laurel said quickly. "I'm not a killer. And I'm not going to kill Ollie." He was her home. "I will do everything I can to save Ollie from Ra's' control." She wouldn't, couldn't kill her husband, the father of her child.

Diggle gave a defeated sigh, "If anyone can save him, you can Laurel. You have already performed a miracle where Brick and his Silver Banshee were concerned."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Arsenal and Speedy tracked down men with briefcases, and according to Felicity, those were what The League was carrying, a virus known as Alpha-Omega. According to ARGUS records that Lyla had managed to send their way, the virus had first been utilized in Hong Kong. An ARGUS Agent had lost his wife and son to that event."

Arsenal chased the man down the crowded street, shoving past people before finally tackling one of the men, who pulled out a small dagger and tried to lunge at the archer.

Arsenal rolled backwards, before tossing one of his kali sticks at the knife before sending a hard kick into the man's face. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched his girlfriend vault over a small wall, to keep up with the other league soldier.

Arsenal moved towards the case to see that the case was empty. "Overwatch, Speedy, Spartan. The cases are empty." The man spat out a tooth and cackled maniacally. It was at that point that Roy realized what was happening. "Ra's sent out men on suicide runs. His soldiers running with briefcases are the virus. ATOM, Overwatch how long until the vaccine is ready to be poured over the city?"

_"Ten minutes tops, I think,"_ Palmer said over the comms.

_"Tie them up, and take them to the SCPD, after they had found out about __meta-humans__ on the rise,__ many police departments in large cities __ha__ve__ made cells with their own air circulation," _Spartan answered before he started shouting at people to get on evacuation buses to one of the safe zones.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Black Canary slowly walked forward on the lone road towards the dam. The next thing she noticed was black-tipped arrows that were shot and killed several League ninjas hiding, likely to ambush her or prevent reinforcements.

She looked up to one of the towering roofs, to just make out Nyssa and some of those loyal to her. Nyssa's soldiers seemed to be wearing a white armband to distinguish them from her father's men.

Laurel gave a small nod before continuing towards Ra's, Nyssa and her soldiers were maintaining an inner containment area. Two lines of protection from Ra's. It was astounding how quickly and efficiently the man had taken a portion of the city.

Laurel eventually made her way to the dam, proper to see three men, all wearing their traditional black robes. "I'm here, where is Ra's?"

The man in the center removed his mask, to reveal a man with a mustache anchored by his beard. The old man looked thin and sickly. "And so you are, girl." For a long moment, the man studied her. "You have been through much. I see that you still wear your wounds from your previous battle with pride."

Laurel unclipped her nightstick. "How does this work? I fight you, and when I win, I'll get my husband back, and you and yours will leave Starling and never return?"

Ra's chuckled, "No." He then snapped his fingers. Laurel paled as she watched in horror as her son was brought out of one of the dam's buildings. Thankfully, her son wasn't awake or had passed out. She swallowed down the bile rising in her throat.

Ra's continued, with a mocking smirk. "You defeat my heir, and I will grant you and your son amnesty, girl. You lose, my heir will snap your son's neck before your eyes before you will join your child in the afterlife."

Laurel released a shuttered breath. How did he manage to kidnap her son? He was supposed to be under ARGUS protection. "He's an innocent! He has no quarrel with you, or yours. He's not a threat to you. He's just a baby!" She had to try to force her voice not to sound like she was begging the man, she couldn't afford to show too much weakness to him. And yet, she she couldn't live with knowing she let her son be murdered.

"He's more than a human, just like yourself, yes?" The thin man asked, he slightly resembled Nyssa. "If he wasn't the firstborn son of my heir, he would have made a magnificent horseman. He could have been reared to become the vanguard of The League. But alas, I cannot have a claimant with powers. Take solace, that once your heart ceases to beat, your son will join you in paradise."

Laurel's knuckles cracked as she gripped her nightstick harder. "If you don't let my son go now, I will break every bone in your body, destroy your pit. You will know how it feels to be in pain, to be helpless." She knew that in all likelihood this was going to be where she die." She steeled her voice. "Last warning, hand my son over to me, without harming him, and you can leave, and I won't pursue you."

Ra's chuckled before coughed, he brought a silk piece of fabric to his mouth, revealing blood. "I doubt you will manage to kill me, or my heir. You will have to go through my heir first, Al Sah-Him. The Arrow."

Laurel froze as she watched as one of the horsemen pulled off his hood to reveal Oliver. "Last chance, Black Canary bend the knee and I will grant you and your mutant son a quick death." Al Sah-Him growled as he unsheathed his blade, taking a step towards her.

Laurel didn't move, only raising her tonfa in the guard position. "Ollie, don't make me fight about _our _son. Think about Connor!"

Al Sah-Him marched towards her and swung his blade, she just managed to block the swing with her baton, the blade cut through some of the metal but was his blade became trapped.

Her husband threw away their weapons as Laurel rolled behind him and quickly held him in a chokehold. "I just went through hell to protect _our _son recently. I almost lost everything to protect Connie. We can protect him, our family, our city together, Ollie. Always and Forever."

Instead of answering, the brainwashed Oliver Queen, flipped Laurel over his shoulder, before delivering a hard blow to the side of her face, before she could even attempt to use her cry, Oliver's hand wrapped around Laurel's throat, causing her to gasp for air.

"Ollie… Connie" She gasped out. This time, she received a punch to her sternum. As she coughed and spluttered, she brought her knee up to collide it with Oliver's jaw. As she rolled backwards, Oliver managed to rip off her mask.

For a brief second, she noticed something. He hadn't seen her in this new suit. His blue eyes softened and looked guilt-ridden when his eyes moved to her red neck and jaw. She maintained her guard until she froze when she saw him pick up their son from one of the other League assassins, and withdrew another small blade from his suit.

"Ollie, please!" She sobbed, struggling to get to her feet. "Do whatever you want to me. Kill me, maim me… Do whatever you want but don't harm _our_ son. You remember him don't you? Connor? Our son, _Our _Baby Bird? Just let Connor go with Thea and Roy." She felt her tears sting her split lip. "Just let them live, they will never do anything to you. I promise. If there is a small part of you that loves me, loves Connor, do this for us! And I won't blame you for killing me…. Just let Connie go, please." She begged, feeling weak for weeping and begging her brainwashed husband for some form of clemency.

His eyes hardened, and in a blink of an eye, the two assassins that held their son were dead. Two blades lodged in their necks. He then walked slowly towards Laurel, handed over to her, and gently caressed her bruised jaw. "Pretty Bird."

"Say it again, call me Pretty Bird." Laurel cried she couldn't believe that Oliver had come back to her. He had managed to save his family, and release himself from Ra's' indoctrination.

Oliver kissed her, and placed a loving hand on his son's head, before looking at her. "I missed you, Pretty Bird." his sad eyes looked upon her, "I'm sorry that I hurt you." His hand moved to softly move towards her neck. "You need to get Baby Bird somewhere safe."

Laurel bit her lip, before she ran with her son towards the visitor center, and was about to hide him in one of the supply closets. "When I close the door, please, use your cry. Just like you protected Mommy and Aunt Thea from the bad lady." She knew her son wouldn't grasp what she was pleading with him to do, but she had to vocalize it.

"That will not be necessary, Laurel." Speedy and Nyssa appeared out from the shadows. Nyssa walked towards Laurel and her son, and tentatively held out her hand to hold the infant. "May I hold the child that I consider to be my nephew?"

Laurel kissed her son before handing Connor over to Nyssa. Who quickly checked over the boy to ensure that he hadn't been poisoned or hurt by her father's orders. "I thought that you were busy taking down the people trying to spread the disease?" Laurel asked her sister.

"I ignored them. Roy, Diggle and a handful of Nyssa's soldiers are more than enough, besides, how many times do I have to keep telling you that we are family. And the Lance-Queen Family protects our own.

Nyssa then handed the infant to Thea. "Take him to your base of operations. Have Dr. Palmer wear his machine and you must both be ready to attack anyone that enters that underground facility. Swear to me that you will protect our nephew, Connor."

Thea gave a short jerk of her head, somewhat offended that she had to swear to protect her nephew. "I swear." With that, Speedy ran out the window, and disappeared into the night.

Nyssa turned from the window to look at Laurel, noticing the large bruise on her jaw. "I see that my father has not completely corrupted your beloved."

"He's still Ollie, he saved Connie, we just have to defeat your father and his other soldier. Just then Sarab walked in with his sword in one hand.

Nyssa's lips curled as she tossed a sheathed dagger at Laurel. "Help Oliver defeat my father. I will handle Sarab."

Black Canary ran past the two who started to encircle each other, and ran out to see Ra's and Ollie dueling with each other a bit too close to the edge of the dam for her liking. Laurel started to get close when a few robed assassins stood in her way.

She delivered a quick strike to one of the assassins' throats before she heard a rifle fire.

_Bang_

One soldier fell.

_Bang_

And another.

_Bang _

The final assassin dropped to the floor, unmoving. She wasn't sure if they were kill-shots, and right now she couldn't care less. All she knew for certain right now was that she had to help Oliver.

Laurel looked up in the distance and she could just make out Diggle standing on a rooftop quite a distance away, aiming his sniper rifle, keeping her safe as she moved towards Oliver.

As she ran, she felt her heart race, Oliver was just forced to his knees, with a sword resting at his neck. She thought she had lost Ollie once, she wasn't going to do that again. Ra's despite his condition was still a talented warrior. Maybe the best she had ever witnessed.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Oliver looked up at the old man who had forced him to almost kill the woman he loved. The man who had put his son in jeopardy. The man that he had foolishly believed couldn't move swiftly or with grace. He felt the cold blade rest against the skin of his neck. Ra's had just sliced his stomach, the armor just preventing the blade from doing anything more than breaking the skin, no doubt though it would require a few stitches.

"You were delivered from the prophecy. We were to join families, blood. Your name is Al Sah-him and you are Wraith Al Ghul. You will ensure that the League endures."

Oliver shook his head. "No. My name is Oliver Jonas Queen. Husband of Dinah Laurel Lance. Father to my son, Connor. And I am the Green Arrow."

The old man snarled and looked at Oliver up and down with disgust. "You are a disappointment. You have a purpose and you waste it for Oliver Queen and his family of after I kill you and yours, I will set out to cleanse the world of these mutants. They are unnatural. Abominations."

Oliver heard it before he felt the incoming blow, it was only a fraction of a second that allowed him to roll with the force.

_SCREEEEE!_

Oliver rolled forwards, and jumped up to his feet to pick up one of the bows left by one of the soldiers, in case this was the final stand. He drew an arrow and shot it into Ra's' chest. The man managed to deftly catch the missile. He then took a swig of a vial containing a small portion of the pit's waters and dropped the arrow to the ground.

The Demon's Head marched towards Oliver and Laurel. Laurel lunged forward with the dagger that Nyssa gave her, only for Ra's to grab the blade, ignoring it cutting into his hands, as he hit Laurel in the throat, causing her to gasp for air.

Oliver danced around his wife, putting him between the master assassin and the love of his life. Oliver used his bow to deflect the assassins flurry of blade strikes. Laurel, after managing to recover, snuck up behind the assassin, kicking his knee from beneath him, surprising the master assassin, though in doing so, Ra's managed to stab Oliver in the arm before getting ready to stab Laurel.

Oliver, ignoring the white-hot burning sensation in his arm, twisted Ra's' hand relieving him of the dagger, and drove an arrow through his stomach. The Assassin stumbled back, his mouth trying to contort to speak. His eyes stayed on Oliver, before he fell over the wall of the dam, landing on the concrete below. And with that The Demon's head was dead. Oliver felt an arm wrap around him, and he felt warm, not just from her body heat, but the warmth of being back with someone he loved. His home.

"Do we need the dagger if we have to know…. cut off his head."Laurel asked, looking at Nyssa's father's remains that laid awkwardly in a pool of blood.

Oliver shook his head. "He's not like Malcolm. Nyssa's father was too far gone for the Pit to rejuvenate him. It only gave him an energy boost. We don't have to worry about Malcolm. He's gone as well."

He then turned and wrapped his arms around Laurel's waist and brought her in for a searing kiss. Both relishing that they were still alive, and together after the hell that they had both endured. "I'm sorry about the jaw."

Laurel hissed and apologized to him about the same injury that she had caused him.

"Where's Connor?"

"Thea has him. Ray and her, and likely Roy, are on protection detail until we relieve them."

A few minutes later, Nyssa and Sarab walked up to them. "Oliver, Laurel. As the undisputed heir of The League, I renounce any and all blood debt between us and your people." Oliver and Laurel followed Nyssa down to her father and watched as Nyssa walked to her father's corpse, and pulled his ring off.

"We shall return to Nanda Parbat and tell them that the League is returning back to its original duty, to destroy the world of evil. But as far as they are concerned, there is more than killing to rid evil, and that Central City and Starling are considered protected by allies. No blood will be spilled without discussion with the teams. As Ra's Al Ghul, I release you, Al Sah-him. You may reclaim your former life."

Oliver nodded gratefully, his arm not leaving Laurel's waist. "Thank you, Nyssa."

The assassin nodded. "Sarab and I have discussed the plans going forward. We are to restore The League to the way it was. Removing evil from the world. But rest assured, none will enter Starling, nor Central City without permission from its guardians first." She then smirked, "My father's oracle was correct. You would play a role to prevent the death of The League. You deposed my father, gave me the title, and created an understanding between vigilantes and The League of Assassins."

"In a roundabout way, sure." Laurel smiled, "Nyssa, anytime you want to visit your family, us, our door is always open for one of Connor's favorite aunts."

Nyssa looked taken aback for a second, before recollecting herself. "Thank you, Laurel. Come, Sarab, we must take our men and return to Nanda Par Bat for the rituals." She then looked at Oliver, "Oliver, you may want to discuss with your team about next time, Laurel, Oliver."

Sarab bowed and shook Oliver's hand. "Keep your son safe. I know more than anyone what a gift it is to have a child, even if he was taken from me too early. But The League under the new Ra's is a way to atone for my sins in a way that I haven't had the opportunity to do. Farewell, Oliver. I'm glad that you found your way back to her." He said with a small gesture of his head towards Laurel.

Oliver looked at Laurel with confusion. "What does she mean, Laurel?"

Laurel sighed, she was just so tired and wanted to rest with her family now that it was whole again. "Brick returned. He managed to manipulate the FBI, he was gunning for me. I got into a heated argument with John and Felicity. I was disavowed. Forced to take down Brick myself, to try to keep him watching me instead of targeting Connor."

Oliver's jaw clenched, and he flexed his hand. "What about Speedy, and Roy?"

"Speedy and Roy were looking after me from the sidelines and protecting our son. I couldn't have done it without them and… Ted…He's gone…" She finally allowed herself to grieve for her mentor and honorary uncle. "He died saving Thea and Connie." She managed to see through her constricted throat.

Oliver instinctively wrapped his arms around Laurel. He would deal with John and Felicity later. Laurel was a founding member of the team and was his co-leader. The team should never abandon each other when things get too hard to handle. What was worse, is that they forced his wife to fight by herself all to protect his sister and son.

He couldn't even start to imagine what Laurel had been forced to endure since he died, and subsequently forced to become Ra's slave.

The team was supposed to be a family. That they would look after each other irrespective of who had died, or thought to be dead, let alone the threats they faced. And then abandoning Laurel during her time of need led to the death of Ted Grant. Laurel's mentor and honorary uncle.

He would have to buy Roy and Thea something nice, as a way to say thanks for them looking after both Laurel and Thea. Or at the very least make them something to show how much he appreciated them watching over Laurel and protecting their son.

"I'm so sorry, Pretty Bird." He wished he could take it all back. Try to reason with Ra's. Nyssa would have believed him that Malcolm framed Thea. If he had done that, he could have helped Laurel protect their son. But hindsight was twenty-twenty. All he could do now was help Laurel, and deal with the two people who broke his trust, and turned their coats on his wife.

* * *

**A/N- Not sure how I feel about the Ra's fight, but I hope that it is at least a little better than the one that we got in canon. Ra's is a villain that is very hard to get right in my opinion. **


	25. Au Revoir

**A/N - A double post for the final two chapters. It's going to feel weird not writing this series anymore. I hope you enjoy it. **

* * *

Long after everyone left the funeral for Ted Grant, Oliver stood beside Laurel, one hand holding their son, the other wrapped around Laurel's waist. They said nothing as they watched Ted's grave being interned. He was thankful that Connor was silent, and hadn't made a fuss. They watched quietly as a man scooped up the last of the soil.

"I wanted to have some final words for Teddy…"The man that helped her to become the woman she was today. Her voice hitched as she spoke, "I don't have any, Ollie."

"Ted was a great man." Oliver said, "I didn't really like him, and the feeling was mutual, but I respected that he treated you as his family. And he helped you to become the woman that you were always meant to be. May he rest in peace."

Laurel gave a tearful smile, before resting her head against his shoulder. "I remember once in college, I bought him a bottle of port. That night he took a sip, he then handed me the wine back and gave me this look of disappointment and asked if I happened to get him some normal beer, that wasn't overpriced and overrated." She then chuckled at the memory. "I just wanted to see his reaction to receiving something fancier than he was used to. He was always a man of the basics."

"He loved his family, Laurel. He died protecting the people he loved you, Connor, and Thea. And for protecting my family, I owe him everything." Ted Grant did a lot more than what both John and Felicity did for his wife. And they better have a damn good reason why they left Laurel to the wolves.

He still couldn't fathom why they would betray one of their own. And his wife of all people, the mother of his infant son.

He then kissed her head. "You are the bravest woman I have ever known. Thank you for being so strong and protecting our family when I couldn't and the others wouldn't."

He gently led Laurel away from the grave and headed to their car.

**:-:-:-:-:**

After leaving Connor, Laurel, and Thea in his and Laurel's loft, he made his way down to the bunker that was once the secondary bunker. There he found John, Felicity, and Roy. Oliver moved so quickly, he didn't even know what happened until his fist collided with Diggle's face, sending his former bodyguard stumbling backwards, followed by another to his sternum.

"You abandoned my wife!" He growled. "You put my family in danger!" He then glared at Felicity, who shrunk in her chair. " I died protecting my sister, a member of our team. And neither of you could help Laurel!?"

Roy, playing the mediator, dragged Oliver a few steps back. "John at least helped with looking after Connor. Saved Thea from Brick."

John nodded slightly, his right eye starting to swell. " I deserved that and more, man. I called you a brother, and I left not just your wife. I left a woman that I consider a sister in the lurch. We were too focused on the threat The League faced and protecting the city that we didn't want to see, or wanted to see Brickwell as a threat. I'm sorry." John wheezed.

Oliver exhaled through his nose and took his eyes off the man he once considered a brother and looked at the I.T. specialist. "Anything you want to say in your defense, Felicity?"

She rapidly shook her head, and avoided his eye contact, she sounded scared. "We thought that Laurel was just trying to find someone to hit and Brick was a convenient excuse. And we didn't realize that she was right until it was too late. I'm sorry, Oliver."

Oliver nodded slightly, he didn't know if what they were saying was genuine or not, and right now, he didn't care. They left Laurel to die, and only by luck, skill, and the fact that her family stepped up did she, Connor, and Thea live. "And what if the roles were reversed?" He asked slowly. Ra's killed Laurel and brainwashed her into The League, and even though I was grieving and was filled with rage, I told you that Daniel Brickwell was the real threat?"

The silence was his answer. They didn't think that Laurel had earned her stripes. That she was just acting out her anger at a convenient target. Oliver nodded silently before speaking in a low growl, "This team is supposed to protect and look after one another. Trust that we have each other's back and won't leave each other to fend for themselves."

He could feel himself fuming, his heart ached. They hadn't just betrayed Laurel, Thea, and Connor, but also him. He felt so stupid that he actually believed that they would look after his family and help Laurel through the tough times. And the only people that did so, proved themselves to be their actual family. Thea, Roy, Ted, and Nyssa. Hell, even Barry and The Wests showed more comradery than they did.

Connor was almost killed and would have if he hadn't by sheer luck, that he inherited Laurel's powers. If he had been killed, he wouldn't be having this conversation with them.

Before he could speak more, his phone rang, Oliver pulled out his phone and answered it, as he moved away from his so-called friends and teammates, but his eyes never strayed from them. _"Ollie, I heard that you are back! How's Laurel, and your son?"_

Oliver exhaled, finally looking away from Felicity and Diggle, his voice losing its hard edge, as he spoke to Barry. His friend didn't deserve his ire. There was no doubt in his mind if Laurel asked, and Barry didn't have his hands tied, he would have been there for his wife, and son. In some ways, he, like Roy, was more like a brother to him, in a different way to Tommy.

"Yeah, I'm back. My family brought me back home. Laurel is resting. And Connor is fine, I don't think he really understands what happened." He swallowed to try to moisten his dry throat."Thank you for asking, Barry."

_"That's what friends are for. And... Ollie, I'm not a professional, but you may want to keep an eye on Connor. Who knows how much of this he will remember."_

Oliver clenched his jaw and nodded. His son being traumatized is another thing that could have been avoided if there hadn't been a mutiny. I appreciate the advice, and we will do that." If anyone knew the most about childhood trauma, it was certainly Barry.

Oliver could hear Barry tapping something as if he wasn't sure he should ask or say something. _"I know that this is a bad time, but I really need your help. Dr. Wells… Isn't who he says he is, he is a speedster like me… He was the man who killed my mother and framed my dad. I wouldn't ask this of you and Laurel, but I really need your help."_

"I'll talk to Laurel, but I'll be there soon," Oliver said almost immediately. As much as he would loathe leaving his son behind once again, duty called.

Roy looked up, he was still leaning against one of the steel tables, "What happened?"

Oliver sighed, he was about to get back into the trenches. "Barry needs Laurel and I to help him with the man that killed his mother." Felicity started typing fast on the computer. "What are you doing?"

She didn't look at him as she spoke, but she pulled up several windows and programs, some with the STAR Labs logo, others with the Palmer Tech insignia. "Getting ready to help from down here."

"No." He said in a low growl. "I can't trust either of you. This can only work with trust, and both of you broke that the moment you betrayed Laurel and endangered our son!"

Oliver clenched his fists, hard enough that he could hear his knuckles popping. "My son was almost killed by the woman framing Laurel. The woman that Brickwell sent to kill them. And would have if not for Thea, Roy, Ted, and Laurel."

He then shook his head, with a clenched jaw. "No, I'm suspending both of you from working with the team until I come back. And then, and only then can we discuss your further involvement with the team. Get out, now." He commanded, he hadn't raised his voice, but he could tell they saw his anger in his demeanor.

Oliver and Roy watched as John and Felicity left the bunker, muttering their apologies. Oliver patted Roy on the shoulder. "Thank you for protecting my family, Roy."

"Our family, Oliver." Roy then hesitated, taking a small step back. The small retreat had Oliver curious. "I never really had a family growing up on the streets. But you, Thea, Connor, and Laurel are that for me… and since both of your parents are gone." He swallowed. "I was hoping that I could receive your blessing to ask your sister to marry me?"

Oliver smiled, "A bit old fashioned." Oliver chuckled lightly, before sobering slightly. "You make Thea happy, and you protected our family when I was dead. I would be honored if you became my brother-in-law."

Roy smiled, looking relieved. "First you have to officially marry Laurel. Thea has already got the paperwork, all you two have to do is sign it, and have another small wedding with just our family."

Oliver chuckled slightly and felt slightly misty-eyed. "Thank you."

Roy cleared his throat. "I'm a free man now and my record has been cleared thanks for helping to take down Daniel Brickwell, Silver Banshee, and Ra's. I would be honored to babysit my future nephew."

"He has a pair of lungs on him." Oliver joked, before he sighed, sounding exhausted. "Thank god that he inherited Laurel's cry."

"It was nothing short of a miracle. Connor saved not just himself, but his mother and aunt. He certainly takes after Mom and Dad, saving people. Maybe we should create a cadetship for budding heroes?" Roy sniggered.

It was certainly something that he and Laurel would have to talk about more. Connor's future. His son may feel the need to follow him and Laurel into this life, from either his powers or otherwise. They would have to assure him that he never has to become a vigilante. And god help him for sounding like his own mother, but he would prefer to push Connor towards Queen Industries, something much safer. Regardless, he was sure he and Laurel would support Connor the best they could.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Laurel watched as Roy and her husband walked into the loft. She honestly never thought she would see Ollie walk through their front door ever again. Oliver looked more pensive than he usually did, she stood up from her seat on the couch and moved towards him. "Ollie?"

He gently held her hands in his, the redness around her throat had started to ebb, but he couldn't help but feel guilty for his part. "Barry needs our help with Wells. Barry will understand if you want to sit this out and stay with Connie. If anyone is entitled to a rest from fighting it's you, Pretty Bird." He then gave her a small smile, "I won't hold it against you either."

Laurel shook her head in disagreement almost immediately. "He, Iris, and Joe helped Thea, Connor, and myself. I owe Barry." She then looked back at Connor's room, which was left ajar, and could only just make out her son's snoring. She felt Thea pat her back, "I will look after Connor."

Oliver smiled and kissed Thea's cheek in gratitude. "Thanks, Speedy. We both owe you and Roy so much."

"No, you don't," Thea said dismissively. She then shrugged her shoulders dismissively, "We are family, we take care of each other. Besides, Mom, Dad, and Quentin would haunt me until the end of my days if I didn't help my family."

Oliver couldn't help but smile at the thought that she still considered Robert her true father despite knowing her true parentage.

Oliver walked with Laurel towards the bunker to get their suits and equipment and headed to Ray Palmer for some technology that may help with dealing with speedsters, before heading to Central.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Barry watched in anger as he watched Eobard Thawne masquerading around as Harrison Wells entered the premises of STAR Labs. The manipulative bastard kept his eyes on the security cameras with a goading smirk.

The bastard was always ahead of him. He looked up to the man, who killed his mother in cold blood!

He could hear Joe behind him telling him to calm down. It was easier said than done. The man had killed his mother in front of him as a child. The reason why his father was in prison. He briefly wondered if Laurel had felt the same way when she found out about Daniel Brickwell.

"You can't go out there by yourself," Caitlin warned.

Barry shook his head, not taking his eyes off the manipulative bastard. "Yeah, I can." He said adamantly, before speeding off to face off against Wells or Thawne, or whatever name he was going by now, it didn't matter his plans would end tonight. He would get justice for his parents and everyone else the man had hurt.

Thawne kept walking forward slowly, his sinister smirk not leaving his face, not his mocking tone of voice. "I heard that your prison transfer didn't go so well. I'm so sorry."

"All part of your plan?" Barry asked. He felt like such a stupid idiot for being strung along. He couldn't believe that he admired the man that killed his mother and framed his father. He felt betrayed, angry, and dirty all at the same time.

Thawne smirked, looking amused. "Actually, no. But you certainly impressed me with the amount of effort you went through to keep them safe. Always the hero, huh, Barry?"

Barry kept his eye on the manipulative bastard. Eobard Thawne, Daniel Brickwell, Malcolm Merlyn, Slade Wilson, and Ra's Al Ghul. All four men had hurt enough people with their machinations and deceit. "You have hurt enough people."

"You see me as the villain, but, Barry, if you were to look back, look back carefully at everything I've done, every wheel I have set in motion, you would realize I have only done what I had to do. Nothing more. Nothing less."

Everything he had to do? Murder wasn't something that he had to do. Did the men that Oliver the others over in Starling face the same kind of belief system that Thawne possesses? Did Daniel Brickwell believe he was doing what he had to? "And the Particle Accelerator? How does that fit into your grand plan?"

Wells chuckled, "Well, why don't you go on inside, and let me show you?"

Barry shook his head as he remembered an old saying that he remembered Joe saying to him when he was younger. _Once bitten, twice shy._ Barry had to learn this lesson the hard way. "You know, I just learned the hard way not to trust the bad guy. "

Wells still seemed amused, "And yet... I've shown you time and time again you can't beat me, Barry."

It was at that moment that a roar of fire echoed through the area, as Ronny and Dr. Stein, aka Firestorm, descended and stood next to Barry. In the faint distance, he could just hear a motorcycle speeding down the streets.

"Wow. You brought yourself a friend." His mother's murderer sounded amused as if Firestorm was not worthy of being a threat.

The sound of a motorcycle skidding to a halt behind Not-Wells, Black Canary and the Green Arrow climbed off the vehicle, reading themselves for the fight. Wells seemed undeterred, amused even. "Welcome, Mr., and Mrs. Queen."

" Hope we're not too late?" The Green Arrow asked Barry as he nocked an arrow to his bow, while Black Canary unclipped her baton.

Barry smiled at his friends, Ronnie, Doctor Stein, Laurel and Oliver all came because he asked. A team of heroes. "You're just in time." He then glared at his former mentor. "I don't care how fast you are. You can't fight all four of us at the same time."

Thawne scoffed in amusement at Barry's boast, "Oh, can't I?" He raised his hand revealing a ring, "Trust me. This... band of heroes, this Justice League, won't stand a chance. No, it will be rather fun, ending the Age of Heroes, before it starts." Within a blink of an eye, Not-Wells had changed into a yellow-clad speedster with red lightning. His voice became distorted as he spoke, "You can't stop me, Flash, nor can your friends; The Green Arrow, Black Canary, nor Firestorm."

Both red and yellow speedsters ran towards each other like two lightning-fast horses out of the gate. None of Barry's fellow heroes could make out anything between the two colors of lightening twirling together like a small vortex.

Oliver clenched his bow harder, in frustration. With them going so fast, he wouldn't be able to make the shot, even with the Reverse Flash being distracted, He, like his wife next to him, wouldn't be able to either fire an arrow nor use her scream without either missing their target or endangering their friend. "Move, Barry. Barry, move!" He bellowed at the mass of lightning in front of them.

After some time, Barry was pinned against a nearby fence, his neck held tightly by the Reverse-Flash. Oliver could only watch as Firestorm flew into the air before Barry was thrown into the air and into an illuminated sign for STAR Labs.

The Reverse-Flash stood there watching as Barry slumped to the ground as if he were silently gloating over the onslaught he gave his nemesis. Oliver, without hesitation, fired his arrow into the speedster's thigh, before Firestorm hit him with a fireball. The yellow-clad speedster didn't look put off. He waved his arm to push the fiery hero across the city, Barry whisked himself away to save his comrade.

The evil speedster sluggishly yanked out the trick arrow out of his thigh, "Nanites, courtesy of Ray Palmer. They're delivering a high-frequency pulse that's disabling your speed. You're not gonna be running around for quite a while."

The speedster stopped vibrating but looked amused at the married vigilantes as he moved towards them. Green Arrow, using his bow as a quarter-staff blocked each and every strike before sending his bow into the speedster's face.

The Reverse-Flash kicked out hitting Oliver in the stomach, aggravating his wound from Ra's, while Black Canary sent a hard right-hook into the speedster's kidneys from behind. Eobard stumbled forward before he sent his elbow backwards narrowly missing Black Canary's head, he turned towards the heroine, as he did, The Green Arrow flipped him over his shoulder, and into some debris.

The Reverse-Flash picked up a steel bar, narrowly missing both of Starling's heroes, before slugging Laurel in the side, and using his bar to block Oliver's onslaught with his bow. Only his defenses didn't last, Oliver brutally sent a sharp blow to his adversary's chest, causing him to wheeze, before throwing him back into the debris.

Eobard stayed slumped in the debris, unmoving, so Oliver took a quick glimpse at his wife, trying hard to get to her feet. He smiled at her resilience, she was never one to lose easily, she was always getting back to her feet.

Oliver turned back to his foe, quickly nocking and aiming another arrow at the speedster as he heard a vibrating sound, in the blink of an eye, the yellow-clad speedster pinned The Emerald Archer to the asphalt, one hand wrapped around his neck, the other vibrating just above Oliver's chest

"The history books say you live to be 86 years old, Mr. Queen. Well, I guess the history books are wrong." He then noticed out of the corner of his eye as he watched as Laurel slowly hobbled her way towards them. "The future, my future, has already changed, but it's not too late to change it back, or make it close enough. In my future, there is no Dinah Laurel Lance-Queen nor a Connor. I will fix that curse for you."

"Stay away from my family!" Oliver growled, trying valiantly to prevent the speedster from plunging his vibrating hand into his chest, and just like with Ra's before, Oliver felt Laurel was ready, he lifted his knee holding the speedster away from him by a few more inches, before it came.

SCREEEEEEEE

Oliver exhaled as The Reverse-Flash was sent tumbling backwards and into the side of a car before he jumped back up to his feet and was forced to run as Barry was hot on his heels.

Oliver exhaled again, which resembled a groan, as Laurel twirled her baton and offered him a hand and a small kiss. He watched as Eobard and Barry sped around and on top of the building of STAR Labs.

He turned to her, cupping her cheek in his gloved hand, "You alright, Pretty Bird?"

She gave him a small nod, her green eyes dancing in the limited light. "I wasn't the one that was almost killed, you ok?"

"I am with you here." He whispered, kissing her again, before they both reluctantly separated, watching red and yellow dance in and around STAR labs. Oliver held his bow tight, another arrow nocked, as he could see Laurel also holding her nightstick in a defensive position.

All of a sudden, with a loud crash, The Reverse Flash landed onto a car roof, the roof concaving beneath him. He slowly got up, and before he could take another step, he was pushed back into the side of the car, by Black Canary's cry, followed a second later, by another nanite-arrow.

There was a collective sigh of relief as the Reverse-Flash slammed back onto the ground, not moving. Barry lowered his cowl, giving them an appreciative nod, "Thanks, guys."

"No problem." Firestorm said, before shaking hands with Barry.

Barry smiled, returning the shake, then did the same with Oliver and Laurel. "I appreciate you both coming out of your way, especially after the hell you both had to endure."

Laurel smiled, and hugged Barry, "Thank you for helping me when I needed it. You are part of our extended family, as far as we are concerned."

Barry felt his cheeks heated up, as he blushed at the heartfelt compliment. "Uh, thanks." He cleared his throat as he looked at the three heroes. "Cisco had an idea that sometimes there will be threats that are too much to deal with, and we need a team of all of us to stop. He said we should call it: The Justice League."

Oliver frowned immediately, "We are not calling ourselves that."

Barry found himself chuckling for the first time in a while. He then noticed that both Stein and Ronnie had separated and looked just as amused as Laurel. "We can discuss it at a later date."

Oliver nodded, his lips turning into a smile, "Absolutely, we will, and we still won't be calling ourselves that." He said as Stein and Ronnie started making their way into STAR Labs.

Laurel smiled but sobered quickly. "We will also have to discuss our options regarding Connor having inherited my powers at a later date." Barry noticed that Oliver looked just as anxious at the topic, it just served as a reminder that despite how people including him sometimes sees these two heroes, they were still human.

"Cisco had made a proto-type for Connor in the chance that he developed powers." He then sped off, taking Thawne with him, and reappearing in the blink of an eye, with a small steel bracelet. "The bracelet should dampen his powers while it is on, it's a temporary solution until we can figure something out for your son in the long term."

Oliver smiled as Laurel held the bracelet in her hands. "Thank you, Barry."

**:-:-:-:-:**

Oliver called a group meeting in The Bunker, which included Diggle and Felicity. Oliver sighed as he stood next to Laurel, who had been cradling Connor in her arms since they returned home from Central, and she and Oliver were reluctant to separate from their son.

"Laurel and I are going to go on a break for a few months. After everything that has happened in the past year or so, it has made us need to take a step back, and spend time with our son, and each other, and reevaluate what we are going to do, both as parents, and as vigilantes."

Ray Palmer blinked, "You're thinking of retiring?"

Oliver wrapped his hand around Laurel's waist, "It's one of the possibilities." He said, if they were to go down that route, they would only don their suits if the situation was very bad. "The other is that we are just taking a break, and will return but things will change. Either way, I think all of us need to take a breather. It's only for a few months."

Ray cleared his throat, "I was actually thinking of moving back to Ivy Town. I've been hearing some rumblings happening in my home town, but I will hold down the fort here for a couple of months to ensure that you and your family are safe while you recuperate, and enjoy your family time."

Felicity, for the first time, spoke up, "I'll be moving with Ray to Ivy town to help him establish himself there. I won't be coming back. Until then, I will be helping Ray here."

Oliver nodded, before looking at Diggle, his swelling had died down, but he still had the purplish reminder on his face of his betrayal."John?"

"I would like to spend more time with Lyla and Baby Sara. I need to do a few projects around the house, but, if you will have me, I would like to return to the team."

Oliver turned his gaze to Laurel, who gave a small nod of agreement. Oliver exhaled, "You can be back on the team, but you are on probation, I won't hesitate to kick you out of this team if you betray one of our own again. This team is a family, and it can only work if we trust each other. Laurel and I are co-leaders in this, her voice holds equal weight to my own. If you can't handle that, there's the door."

"Thank you for the second chance, you won't regret it." With that, Diggle left, Felicity returned to the command center, and Ray moved towards his exo-suit to make adjustments.

**:-:-:-:-:**

Upon entering their loft with Thea and Roy following in tow, Laurel placed her son into his playpen and placed his bracelet around his wrist. She turned from staring at her baby when she heard Thea's voice, "So where are you three headed to?"

"Nowhere." Oliver answered, "We are staying here in Starling. It's home. Though we may be looking for a house to ensure that Connor has a place to learn how to use his cry without hurting himself or others."

"We will also be getting married at the courthouse, and we would love it if you two were our witnesses since our other one wasn't legally binding."

"We would love to." Thea smiled, "Mom, dad, Quentin, and Ted would be proud of both of you, for all you have done, and now taking your time to ensure that your son is happy and healthy, along with finally tying the knot."

Roy added, "Don't forget that CNRI is coming back, and Oliver will be running Queen Industries."

Oliver smiled at his future brother-in-law, "Queen Industries will need a man that I can trust as the head of security, and I can think of no one that I trust more for that position than you, Roy. It's a family business after all, and that's who you are. Family."

That's what the five of them were, a family.

* * *

**A/N- Thank you, everyone, who has supported this fic, by reading it, commenting or leaving a fav, or follow. I really appreciate it. A special thanks to the Lauriver Discord for their help. **


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